Mark Eddiva withdraws from UFC Fight Night 55

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fighter Mark Eddiva was forced to withdraw from his three-round featherweight tussle against Mike De La Torre at UFC Fight Night 55 on November 8 due to an injury. 

The 28-year-old Eddiva broke the news of his surprising pullout on his personal Facebook page on Tuesday, October 7. 

“Thanks for all the support. Sorry, I can’t fight this November 8 because of my medical condition. Hope you will continue to extend your support not only to me and my team but to all Filipino fighters,” he wrote. 

(RELATED: Mark Eddiva is a UFC fighter with dreams of teaching)

Eddiva confided to Rappler that he is presently nursing throat and elbow injuries that prevented him from engaging in full training camp. 

“I have to pull out because of my throat and elbow injuries. In addition, I just recovered from a rib injury. It really prevented me to train for this fight,” Eddiva said.

As of the moment, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) officials has not announced Eddiva’s replacement to face De La Torre.

The Team Lakay standout was aiming to put himself back on the winning track with his bout versus De La Torre after tasting his first career defeat this past May.

Eddiva (6-1), a 2010 Asian Games gold medalist in Wushu Sanshou, made his first Octagon appearance in March when he picked up a unanimous decision triumph over Jumabieke Tuerxun.

His back-and-forth battle with Tuerxun was the first time that he had to go the distance after five stoppages, four of which came in the first round.

However, Eddiva’s second UFC outing earned him his first loss as he bowed to Edimilson “Kevin” Souza via second-round technical knockout on the preliminary card of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 season finale.

Despite the disappointing setback to Souza, Eddiva shared the “Fight of the Night” award with his opponent for their effort to put a thrilling contest and brought home a $50,000-bonus in his pocket. 

UFC Fight Night 55, which takes place at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia, is headlined by a scheduled five-round middleweight clash between former Strikeforce 185-pound kingpin Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping. – Rappler.com