Michael Chiesa injured, Tony Ferguson needs new opponent for UFC Fight Night 91 Lightweight Michael Chiesa (14-2) has been forced to withdraw from UFC Fight Night 91 due to a back injury. UFC officials confirmed the news on Monday. Here’s what he had to say in a Facebook post. I found out today I have a fully ruptured disk, I will undergo 8 weeks of physical therapy and rehab to hopefully avoid having to go under the knife and get back surgery. Thanks to everyone that supports me, my teammates and coaches, the city of Spokane and all my fans around the world. I’ll be back stronger. – Mav Ferguson is currently ranked No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, while Chiesa checks in at No. 10. UFC signs Katlyn Chookagian, meets Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 91 in South Dakota Combat Press reported Monday that Katlyn Chookagian will make her UFC debut against Lauren Murphy on July 13. Chookagian (7-0) is coming off a first round knockout over Stephanie Bragayrac at CFFC 57 and is the Cage Fury Fighting Championships title holder. Murphy (9-2) scored a Fight of the Night TKO victory over Kelly Faszholz at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh. She’s 1-2 in the UFC after losing back-to-back bouts against Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche. UFC Fight Night 91 takes place July 13 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. Here’s an updated look at the card. Tony Ferguson vs. opponent TBA John Lineker vs. Michael McDonald Tim Boetsch vs. Josh Samman Alexey Oleinik vs. Daniel Omielanczuk Keita Nakamura vs. Kyle Noke Ben Nguyen vs. Louis Smolka Ryan Hall vs. Alex White Cortney Casey vs. Cristina Stanciu Sam Alvey vs. Eric Spicely Matthew Lopez vs. Rani Yahya Devin Clark vs. Alex Nicholson Scott Holtzman vs. Cody Pfister UFC 202 books Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira, Donald Cerrone vs. Rick Story UFC officials also announced Monday that light heavyweights Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixiera and welterweights Donald Cerrone vs. Rick Story have been added to UFC 202. Johnson (21-5) vs. Teixeria (25-4) was initially slated to take place at July’s UFC on FOX 20 event, but “Rumble” had to withdraw due to personal issues. Johnson heads into this contest off back-to-back victories over Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader, while Teixeira has won three-straight. Cerrone (30-7) heads into this fight off three-straight victories including a TKO victory over Patrick Cote in his last bout earlier this month at UFC Ottawa. Story (19-8) also rides a three-fight win streak and is coming off a decision win over former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine at May’s UFC Fight Night 88. UFC 202 takes place August 20th at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. Here’s an updated look at the card. Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira Donald Cerrone vs. Rick Story USADA announces six-month suspension for B.J. Penn On Monday USADA announced a six-month suspension for former UFC champion B.J. Penn, retroactive to the March 25 date he admitted using a banned IV. Penn (16-10-1) won’t be able to fight until September 25 and claimed he had no idea IV rehydration was banned year-round. He admitted using his use of the method during a March 21 out-of-competition drug test performed by USADA. Here is USADA’s full statement: USADA announced today that Jay Dee (“BJ”) Penn of Hilo, Hawaii, an athlete in the UFC, has accepted a 6-month sanction for an anti-doping policy violation for his use of a prohibited method. During an out-of-competition test on March 25, 2016, Penn declared the use of an intravenous infusion of a non-prohibited substance. A subsequent investigation by USADA revealed that the intravenous infusion received by Penn was administered in a volume greater than 50 mL within a 6 hour period. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, intravenous infusions in a volume greater than 50 mL within a 6 hour period are prohibited, except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures or clinical investigations. Intravenous infusions received in any other setting require an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). Kyle Bochniak vs. Enrique Barzola set for UFC on FOX 21 UFC officials announced Monday that Kyle Bochniak will take on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2” winner Enrique Barzola at UFC on FOX 21 in Vancouver. Bochniak (6-1) heads into this bout off the first loss of his career, losing via unanimous decision to Charles Rosa on short notice at UFC Fight Night 81. Prior to the loss the 29-year old won six-straight bouts, four by stoppage. Barzola (11-2-1) defeated Horacio Gutierrez by unanimous decision at TUF Latin America 2 Finale. He heads into this contest off two-straight wins and has boasts eight stoppages in 11 career wins. UFC on FOX 21 takes place Aug. 27 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Here’s an updated look at the card. Charles Oliveira vs. Anthony Pettis Alessio Di Chirico vs. Garreth McLellan Bec Rawlings vs. Paige VanZant Enrique Barzola vs. Kyle Bochniak
