MMA Odds and Ends for Thursday: CM Punk’s debut delayed, Erokhin tests positive at TUF 22 Finale

Phil Brooks (CM Punk) debut delayed due to back surgery According to MMAFighting.com, former WWE champion CM Punk underwent back surgery on Wednesday in Chicago, meaning his upcoming UFC debut against Mickey Gall will be delayed. The reason for surgery was apparently due to a herniated disc. Punk released a statement in the report. “My back has always bugged me. Figured it was just wrestling sh*t. Turns out it was. It got bad enough to the point where I couldn’t do anything the week before I went to train with the New Jersey Devils last month. One day I could manage, the next day I couldn’t. I’ve been in agony for almost a month. Chiropractor, acupuncture, massage, cryotherapy … nothing worked. This is just a bump in the road,” he said. “I’m positive about this.”   Konstantin Erokhin tests positive at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale Per MMAFighting.com’s Marc Raimondi, former UFC heavyweight Konstantin Erokhin tested positive at TUF 22 finale. Erokhin (9-3) tested positive for anabolic steroid drostanolone in a pre-fight, in-competition test, according to the report. The Russian went winless in the UFC  losing back to back fights against Viktor Pesta and Gabriel Gonzaga. He was released following the loss to Gonzaga.  Also in the report, the 33-year old will be given a fine and face a suspension from the NAC in an upcoming hearing.   UFC Fight Night 86 adds Damian Stasiak vs. newcomer Filip Pejic A bantamweight matchup has been added to UFC Fight Night 86 in Croatia as Stasiak takes on Zagreb’s own Pejic. Stasiak (8-3) looks to bounce back from his UFC debut loss against Yaotzin Meza at UFC Fight Night 64. Prior to that, the Polish fighter had won five-straight fights. Pejic (10-1-1) comes into this matchup on a nine-fight unbeaten streak, including six TKO victories. UFC Fight Night 86 takes place April 10 at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia. Here’s an updated look at the card. Junior Dos Santos vs. Ben Rothwell Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ruslan Magomedov Bojan Mihajlovic vs. Francis Ngannou Timothy Johnson vs. Marcin Tybura Jan Blachowicz vs. Igor Pokrajac Nicolas Dalby vs. Bartosz Fabinski Damir Hadzovic vs. Mairbek Taisumov Alessio Di Chirico vs. Bojan Velickovic Filip Pejic vs. Damian Stasiak   Ben Nguyen vs. Justin Scoggins, Rin Nakai vs. Leslie Smith set for UFC Fight Night 85 UFC officials announced Wednesday that a flyweight match up between Ben Nguyen vs. Justin Scoggins and woman’s bantamweight’s Rin Nakai vs. Leslie Smith have been added to UFC Fight Night 85. Scoggins (11-2) just defeated Ray Borg by unanimous decision last weekend at UFC Fight Night 82 in Las Vegas. With the victory he’s now won back to back fights. Nguyen (14-5) looks to push his winning streak to eight-straight. He’s coming off a successful UFC debut against Alptekin Ozkilic at UFC Fight Night 65, where he won by TKO in the first round. Nakai (16-1) last saw action in September 2014 where she lost a unanimous decision to Miesha Tate at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan. Smith (7-6-1) has lost three of his last four fights and returns after a 16-month layoff. UFC Fight Night 85 takes place at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Here’s an updated look at the card Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir Hector Lombard vs. Neil Magny Steve Bosse vs. James Te Huna Alan Jouban vs. Brendan O’Reilly Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Daniel Kelly Seo Hee Ham vs. Bec Rawlings Johnny Case vs. Jake Matthews Viscardi Andrade vs. Richard Walsh Ross Pearson vs. Abel Trujillo Chad Laprise vs. Alan Patrick Mark Eddiva vs. Daniel Hooker Rin Nakai vs. Leslie Smith Ben Nguyen vs. Justin Scoggins   Bellator 151 adds seven prelim fights to complete the card MAIN CARD Joe Warren vs. Darrion Caldwell Fernando Gonzalez vs. Gilbert Smith Bubba Jenkins vs. Goiti Yamauchi Sirwan Kakai vs. Joe Taimanglo PRELIMINARY CARD Chris Jones vs. Ray Wood Steve Garcia vs. Ricky Turcios Justin Patterson vs. Chance Rencountre Aaron Roberson vs. Treston Thomison Roger Carroll vs. Neiman Gracie Jermayne Barnes vs. Derek Palmer Stephen Banaszak vs. Steven Peterson   Dhiego Lima headlines Legacy FC 53 in Atlanta Per MMAJunkie.com, TUF 19 runner-up Dhiego Lima will headline Legacy FC 53 in April against Ben Brewer. Lima (10-4) went 1-3 in the UFC before the promotion released him last year. Following being cut from the UFC, Lima mentioned that he needed to take some extended time off after back to back knockout losses to Tim Means and Jingliang Li. Brewer (11-4) is perhaps unfairly known for losing to Randy Brown  at Ring Of Combat 52, the same event that was featured on Dana White’s “Lookin for a Fight”. He’s 3-2 in his last five fights. Legacy FC 53 takes place April 8 at Center Stage Atlanta in Georgia. Here’s a look at the card. Ben Brewer vs. Dhiego Lima Cody Wilson vs. Dave Vitkay C.J. Hamilton vs. Jacob Hebeisen Amir Dadovic vs. Adam Dehart Kamrin Naville vs. Diego Saraiva Wesley Golden vs. Chazz Walton Lawson McClure vs. John Queiroz  

Written by James Lynch

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