According to Thomas Gerbasi of UFC News, recent knee injuries have forced light heavyweight contender Stephan Bonnar and middleweight standout Patrick Cote to withdraw from their April bouts. Bonnar was scheduled to face Matt Hamill on April 2nd’s UFC Fight Night card in Broomfield, Colorado. Cote was expected to compete on the UFC 83 card in Montreal on April 19th against an opponent to be determined. Replacements for Bonnar and for the Cote-TBD bout are expected to be announced shortly.
Like former New York Yankee outfielder Tommy Henrich, you can start calling light heavyweight up and comer Tim Boetsch ‘Ol’ Reliable’, as the Pennsylvania resident has again stepped up to the plate to replace an injured fighter for the UFC; this time, Boetsch will enter the Octagon to take on Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night on April 2nd.
Boetsch replaces Stephan Bonnar, who was forced from the card due to a knee injury.
7-1 in pro MMA, the 27-year old Boetsch came in on short notice at UFC 81 earlier this month and made quite an impression on fight fans, dismantling veteran David Heath in less than a round. In Hamill (5-1), he will be facing a wrestling standout who has shown vast improvement since his stint on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. In Hamill’s last bout, he lost a controversial split decision to Michael Bisping at UFC 75 last September.
UFC Fight Night, which is being held at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado, will air live on Spike TV.
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