Dengue Fever Forces John Lineker Out Of UFC Fight Night 83 Bout With Cody Garbrandt
UFC Fight Night 83, which is set to go down this upcoming weekend (February 21, 2016) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has received yet another hit to its main card.
It was reported earlier today (February 15, 2016) that heavy handed Brazilian John “Hands of Stone” Linker has been forced out of his highly anticipated bantamweight matchup with Cody “No Love” Garbrandt due to suffering from a case of Dengue Fever.
Portal do Vale Tudo broke the unfortunate news before Lineker confirmed it himself via his official Twitter account:
I apologize @Cody_Nolove,I know just how bad do all preparation and can not fight,we all went out harmed pic.twitter.com/gInjkpT5d6
— John Lineker (@johnlineker) February 15, 2016
Lineker has made waves in the UFC due to his brutal knockout power, compiling a 7-2 Octagon record. However, he has experienced weight cutting issues, and was recently forced to move back up to bantamweight where he scored a submission victory over Francisco Rivera in one of the best fights of 2015 at UFC 191.
“No Love” is also a prospect on the rise in the 135-pound division, possessing a perfect 7-0 record including a 2-0 UFC record. He scored a TKO victory over Marcus Brimage in his promotional debut at UFC 182, and most recently took away a unanimous decision last July over Henry Briones.
The UFC has yet to announce whether or not Garbrandt will remain on the card, but one would have to assume that it’ll be pretty difficult to find a new opponent on less than a week’s notice.
