Jon Fitch loses third opponent after elbow injury forces Josh Burkman out of trilogy

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SON OF A FITCH!!!

Jon Fitch -- or his proposed World Series of Fighting (WSOF) opponents, for that matter -- just can't seem to catch a break.

Josh Burkman, who was scheduled to take on Fitch at WSOF 11 on July 5, 2014, in Daytona, Fla., has been forced out of the trilogy fight because of a hyper-extended elbow, ligament damage and bone bruise, according to this Twitter post.

"The People's Warrior" was pegged as a late challenger for Fitch after Jake Shields was scrapped from fighting his fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) castaway also with an injury. Shields, interestingly enough, was also a replacement fight for Fitch after Rousimar Palahares -- the man originally booked to defend his 170-pound title against the former No. 1 UFC Welterweight contender -- opted out of the championship fight for personal reasons.

For those keeping count, that is now three opponents who have left Fitch high-and-dry, forcing WSOF officials to scramble for a fourth opponent for an event that is a little more than three weeks away.


http://www.mmamania.com/2014/6/11/5...ow-injury-josh-burkman-trilogy-match-canceled

 

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found this also:

Let's try this again, shall we?

Long-time mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Dennis Hallman has been booked to battle Jon Fitch in the co-main event of WSOF 11, which goes down on July 5, 2014, in Daytona, Fla., as a late replacement for Josh Burkman, who yesterday was forced out of his trilogy match against Fitch because of an elbow injury.

Hallman is now the fourth opponent scheduled to face Fitch after his previous three foes, including the aforementioned Burkman -- who was a replacement for Jake Shields, who was a replacement for Rousimar Palhares -- all dropped out for various reasons.

Thankfully for World Series of Fighting (WSOF), the fight was too good to pass up for Hallman, who broke it down to MMA Fighting earlier this afternoon:

"Regrettably, yes, I am out of the tournament, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to fight someone like Jon Fitch. I regard him as one of the best in the world and while I believe that the tournament has similar opportunities to face top-level guys, the chance to fight Fitch was just too big to pass up."

The tournament Hallman's referring to is the Battlegrounds eight-man, one night tournament he was scheduled to participate in on June 27, 2014. But taking a fight -- and potentially scoring a win -- against an established veteran such as Fitch holds more value for "Superman."

Hallman currently owns a three-fight win streak that dates back to his final fight under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner where he defeated John Makdessi at UFC 140.

"Superman" was then cut from the UFC ranks after he came in overweight for his UFC on FX 5 against Thiago Tavares, which was ultimately canceled after Hallman failed to drop the extra seven pounds.

Despite his transgression, Hallman was still paid his "show" and "win" money by the promotion to help alleviate his personal issues.

http://www.mmamania.com/2014/6/12/5...-fitch-fight-josh-burkman-injured-daytona-mma