Jussier Formiga Reportedly Injured, out of UFC on Fox 13 Fight with John Moraga
UFC officials may have to put their scrambling hats on again. Streaking flyweight Jussier Formiga is reportedly injured and out of his Dec. 13 bout with John Moraga at UFC on Fox 13.
The news was first reported Friday by John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com. The UFC has not officially confirmed the injury, nor was there immediate word on the nature of the injury, a recovery timetable for Formiga or a potential replacement opponent for Moraga. To keep the bout on the UFC on Fox 13 card, UFC matchmakers would have to hustle to find another flyweight who can be ready to fight in about two weeks.
Formiga vs. Moraga holds plenty of implications for the flyweight division title picture. In the latest UFC rankings, Formiga is ranked No. 4 and Moraga is No. 5.
The withdrawal comes at a particularly inopportune time for the native Brazilian. After a slow start to his UFC career, the 29-year-old Formiga (17-3) rebounded big time in 2014, choking out Scott Jorgensen in March and decisioning Zach Makovsky in August. A third win in a row—against a former title challenger in Moraga—could have positioned Formiga for the next shot at Demetrious Johnson's UFC flyweight title.
Known for his jiu-jitsu game, Formiga has eight submission wins (and no knockouts) on his pro ledger.
The withdrawal would require yet another short-notice replacement in a year that has seen the promotion riddled with injury misfortune. Injuries to champions like Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and Chris Weidman, among a slew of others, may have cut the profits of UFC parent company Zuffa by as much as 40 percent, according a recent report from Bloomberg.
Formiga trains at Nova Uniao, a gym that has produced champions like Jose Aldo and Renan Barao. But he also has a tough recent history of injury.
"Jussier Formiga getting injured should be really read as "Nova Uniao fighter suffers knee injury and absolutely no one is shocked".
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) November 21, 2014"
Moraga (15-3) would make a worthy foil and fun matchup for any top flyweight. A complete fighter with heavy hands, Moraga, 29, has won two of his last three fights, with his only defeat in that stretch coming to John Dodson, who is probably most observers' choice as the second-best fighter in the division behind Johnson.
