It looks like the injury bug continues to plague January’s UFC: Singapore (or UFC Fight Night 34) line-up.
First, Jake Ellenberger (29-7) was forced to withdraw from his main event tussle with Tarec Saffiedine. Now, according to a report on MMAJunkie.com, MMASucka.com has learned that Hacran Dias (21-2-1) is set face a spell on the sidelines as well, after suffering an injury in training.
Dias (pictured) was slated to face UFC newcomer Tatusya Kawajiri (32-7-2). A search is apparently on for a replacement opponent, although no official announcement has been made yet.
UFC Fight Night 34 takes place January 4 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The night’s main event features an interesting 170-lbs battle between South Korean sensation Hyun Gyu Lim (12-3-1) and former Strikeforce champ, Tarec Saffiedine (14-3).
Dias, 29, is a member of Brazil’s famed Nova Uniao camp, the very stable that has produced the likes of reigning UFC champs Jose Aldo and Renan Barao. With only two losses on his resume, Dias is somewhat of a submission specialist, with 43% of his victories coming via tapout. Following a Unanimous Decision victory in his UFC debut, Dias fell short in his next outing, against Nik Lentz at UFC on FX 8.
Kawajiri, in the meantime, is one of the more popular faces in the Asian region. A former Shooto champ, the Japanese vet has fought only once outside of Asia, and that came in 2011 in a Strikeforce title match-up with Gilbert Melendez, which he loss by TKO. Since then, however, the 35-year-old has won five straight, picking up wins over notables Michihiro Omigawa, Joachim Hansen and Drew Fickett.
With that, here’s the updated fight card for the event:
- Tarec Saffiedine vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
- *Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. TBA
- Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Luiz Dutra
- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Shunichi Shimizu
- Katsunori Kikuno vs. Quinn Mulhern
- Dustin Kimura vs. Jon delos Reyes
- Max Holloway vs. Will Chope
- Dave Galera vs. Royston Wee
* – Not officially announced
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