Only a couple of weeks away from UFC 247 in Houston, Texas on February 8th, the card has taken a hit with two fighters being forced to withdraw from the event due to injuries.
Jimmie Rivera had been scheduled to fight Marlon Vera at the show, but an undisclosed injury will keep him from the show.
Not so long ago Rivera was a leading bantamweight contender, but since 2018 he’s experienced a dip in form that’s seen him lose three of his last four fights, including defeats again other leading 135lb’ers like Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan and Marlon Moraes.
Meanwhile, Dhiego Lima is also out of UFC 247 after he suffered a neck injury, though thankfully it appears it won’t keep him out of action for long.
Lima had been set to fight Alex Morono on the card, and was looking to extend his current winning streak to four fights, having picked up big victories over Chad Laprise, Court McGee and Luke Jameau in the space of a year.
Both Rivera and Lima’s bouts had been earmarked to air on the UFC 247 prelims on ESPN prior to the main card, which at the present time remains intact and is headlined by a light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes.