Heavyweight Heath Herring, who had been scheduled to fight Cain Velasquez in the co-main event at UFC 99, will not fight on the card as scheduled, FanHouse learned Tuesday.FanHouse's Ariel Helwani first got the news that Herring is out. I separately confirmed with a source close to Herring that he has been battling an illness for weeks and unable to train.
It is not known at this point what will happen with Valasquez, a former Arizona State wrestler who is one of the brightest young heavyweight prospects in the UFC.
One option -- and this is pure speculation -- is that Velasquez could fight Mirko Cro Cop, who was confirmed for the UFC 99 card on Monday. Cro Cop was expected to take on Mostapha Al Turk, but a Cro Cop-Velasquez fight would be much bigger than Cro Cop-Al Turk or Herring-Velasquez.
UFC 99 takes place June 13 in Germany, with a main event of Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva.
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UPDATE: Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo set for UFC 99.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-19-2009 @ 4:16PM
Frederick said...
I Doubt cro cop velasquez
I think Velasquez would win and unles cro cop has a 1 fight contract I do not think he will face such a caliber of opponent
Velasquez is a young stud. I am sure he would jump on that chance if offered but I dnt think thats what Joe Silva and Dana will do
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5-19-2009 @ 5:24PM
Chuck said...
I think a fight with Cro Cop would be too dangerous for him. He is good, but lets face it, he hasn't fought anyone near the caliber of Cro Cop. And isn't the fight in Germany? How well does he travel? Either way I hope cro cop comes back to form. Most American fans probably haven't seen him fight all those great fights in Pride.
5-19-2009 @ 5:24PM
richardbikle said...
Agree with you Fredrick; I think Vasquez would take a fight with Cro Cop. I actually think Herring would have been a better test for Cain. I see Cro cop as kinda a one trick pony, much better suited for K-1.
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5-19-2009 @ 5:43PM
erik said...
Herring has not lived up to the hype that brought him here, cro cop has seen better days. find someone who will test him and bring him to the ufc
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5-19-2009 @ 6:17PM
Robert said...
Cain travels well. This fight would propel him into a possible heavy weight title fight. Regardless it will be good to see Velasquez fighting a top ranked opponent.
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5-19-2009 @ 8:45PM
hellogreenstar said...
I think that Velasquez would be a good fight with Shane Carwin if he's up for it. Two big up and coming heavyweights.
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5-19-2009 @ 6:56PM
bobbbthedd said...
HEATH WASN'T AND HASN'T BEEN WORTH ALL THE HYPE. MAYBE HE'S TO SICK FROM BEING BEAT UP SO MUCH. GO HOME HEATH AND HAVE A HEATH BAR AND RELAX.
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5-19-2009 @ 7:06PM
richardbikle said...
Heath Herring has been a tough, tough guy for a long time. He has really good ecsapes, can explode just when you're ready to count him out, and just never gave up.
He went longer with Brock than Randy did, and took a bad beating while doing it.
Give the guy some credit.
5-19-2009 @ 7:09PM
richardbikle said...
Most of the Pride fighters had taken a lot of abuse. Those guys had some brutal fights, not to mention tournments.
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5-19-2009 @ 7:38PM
bobbbthedd said...
richardbikle the brock and randy fight can't be used to compair heath with anyone. first off randy wasn't prpair to fight a man of brock's size right out of retirement. heath is a good training partner for someone to beat up on a daly basis
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5-19-2009 @ 10:47PM
richardbikle said...
bobbbthedd, Randy was the Champion, and he was calling for Fedor. He got Brock. You can compare Randy and Heath fighting the same guy in about the same time frame. It's pretty compareable. Heath is a very tough guy and deserves credit for it. The guy took a three round pounding, and hey - seems I remember him escaping Brock once or twice. Not many are going to do that.
5-19-2009 @ 8:15PM
papam11 said...
Based on what I see of these MMA fighters, there's not a one that could ever be confused with any Hollywood idol.
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5-19-2009 @ 9:17PM
buddzkmk420 said...
I'm not a big fan of Heath Herring, however in his fight with Brock Lesnar it was reported that the first punch broke his orbital bone. Now I have had my orbital bone broken, and it's probably the worst pain I've ever felt in my life, so for Heath to continue fighting Brock took alot of balls. Give the guy some credit.......
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5-20-2009 @ 8:11AM
venturamickey said...
I hate to sound dumb ( some would agree) but Has anyone checked on steroid usage with brock and these other wrestlers coming in. they look like king kong and compared to other normal MMA guys I think one should consider it is a strong possibility that they have a big advantage coming in with past roid usage.
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5-20-2009 @ 8:40AM
bobbbthedd said...
richardbikle thanks for the come back. i think randy got a raw deal as dana wanted the belt away from randy and brock was the man to do it. lets face it brock is the heavey weight of the future and he has the belt. this man will just get better. now this guy bobby the other pro wrestler will come to ufc and that will be the end of the heavey weight division. these two giants will dominate the heavey weight division for some time to come. richard arn't we luck to be able to watch such a wonderful sport
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5-20-2009 @ 10:38AM
richardbikle said...
You're welcome, and thanks to you.
Agree 100%, I also thought Dana wanted Randy to loose because he (Randy) dared to holdout for money. I never watch pro wrestling, (well never for more than a minute or two, 300# guys doing flips off the ropes is interesting for a minute or two); but Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast, and Lashley isn't far behind. If these guys aren't the future, someone like them is.
As for Herring, I see him as overmatched in the standup with Kongo. Herring has a better ground game unless Kongo has dramatically improved, I think he needs to get this fight on the ground. Herring needs to dominate the ground, because if Kongo is on top his handwork is so good he could make a quick night of it. Thats the way I see it.
5-20-2009 @ 10:44AM
richardbikle said...
what an idiot, Kongo is fighting Vasquez. I don't think Kongo will be able to stop his take downs, although Kongo did look better his last couple of fights. he sprawled and stuffed a couple, but I think Vasquez will get the job done.
I had Herring on the mind, the UFC fans don't seem to appreciate that guy and i find him a very tough guy.
5-20-2009 @ 9:41AM
Frederick said...
Cheick Kongo vs Cain Velasquez its on Kongo's Facebook
its in french
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheick-Kongo/85453090261#/pages/Cheick-Kongo/85453090261?v=wall&viewas=501778731
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5-20-2009 @ 11:33AM
bobbbthedd said...
richardbikle i agree with you about randy and danna. randy will always be my favorite regardless. my biggest fear is a lot of these pro wrestlers are good wreslers. as the pro wresling leage folds and it is more of trhem will come where the money is at ufc. i hope the don't bring their steroid problems to the ufc. pluse the attitude and respect for your fellow combatent is so important to the ufc i wouldn't want to see this ever change.
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5-20-2009 @ 1:23PM
richardbikle said...
How can you not like Randy, he actually got better as he got older, thats devotion.
I actually think they make more money in pro (scripted) wrestling than UFC. I really think we only get to see the fighters willing to accept the UFC's pay scale.
I don't think steroids are much of an issue, USofA tests. Look at the fighters that worked in Japan, many of the Brazilians have dropped a weight class (20 plus pounds) since coming to the US of A where we test.
Brock actually fell in love with the weight room during his college wrestling. The guy's a beast from lots and lots of hard work. As to some of the other pro wrestlers, i suspect you're right about use.