David Heath (7-0) has been named as Forrest Griffin’s replacement to face Ryoto Machida (9-0) at UFC 70 on April 21, according to FightNetwork.com.
Just yesterday, news broke that Griffin had to withdraw from the bout with a staph infection. Keith Jardine and Jason Lambert were apparently considered for the Manchester match up, which will air via tape delay on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. EST.
However, both fighters are recovering from their own nicks and bruises.
Heath — like Machida — sports an undefeated record. He’s 2-0 in the Octagon with wins over Cory Walmsley and Victor Valimaki.
It certainly won’t have the appeal of a Griffin-Machida or Jardine-Machida showdown, but Heath is a solid fill-in — he’s no can.
March 15th, 2007
27 Comments »
if it could fall to an undercard…it would….good luck trying to promote Machida for awhile
haha!!! i so called it! anyone who dosent believe me check out the comments on the jardine / lambert dropout article. yes this is going to be a good fight but machiada will take it easily
you did call it, hats off….but i think you have staed an oxymoron…..good fight/ machida will take it easily….i agree that machida will take it easily, but i dont think it can be both
your right that is true in a way, i think its a good fight because both are undafeated and they both will put up a good fight, maybe machida wont take it easily but i think he will win convincingly
Im a little pissed…this awesome card on spike gets a little worse….next thing we find out is Arlovski or werdum will have to pull out, then Justin eilers will fill in
ya no doubt i was looking forward to that fight as well, there have been so many injuries lately it sucks so much, hopefully no one else gets injured and drops out because that card i want to see so bad.
I agree with MMA Dude. This free event is starting to suck. I’m afraid if it gets any worse it won’t be worth the money I’m not spending to see it.
C/mon now… Cropcop is worth it everytime! So is Arlovski for that matter.
true travis…you cant forget about those guys…but CroCop fight wont be nearly as competitive as that one could have been…so there wont be as much hype…thats why im praying nothing happens with the arlovski fight, becuase that will also be competivive…and that makes for a better show rather than cro cop KOing gonzaga in the first…the hype of two good fighters going at it is better than the hype of seeing a superstar getting his 20th? KO..imo
Heath is not bad. Its not like Griffin made or broke this card. C’mon guys … this is a FREE UFC card that features Cro Cop, Arlovski, Werdum, Bisping, Machida and others. I dont understand the complaints.
MTU you have been ghost today, what’s the deal?
I’m surprised James Irvin wasn’t chosen for this fight. The guy hasn’t had a fight in a while, and it seems like a good choice.
isn’t Irvin that guy that got dominated by terry martin in the first round then pulled off that lucky flying in the beginning of the second. even the flying knee wouldnt save him from machida
james irvin has a lost in the wec three fights ago machida has never lost glad ufc choose who they did
spent so much money for UFC70 Tickets! thought Dana Gay White will bring some UFC-Superstars to Europe!!! i’m very disappointed!
rob…
say lucky all you want
lucky or not was one of the best ufc knockouts ever
r we taling top 100 or top 10 i will give w you top 100
top 10
I like lyoto a lot, im just happy to see him fight, Griffen would have been more exciting
definitely one of the best knockouts ever. i thought terry martin died i have it on dvd needless to say i always skip the first round of the fight
Shit. I was so looking forward to Machida dominating Griffin and getting a title shot within the next year or so. It would have been bitter sweet though, because I’m pretty sure it would have marked the end of Griffin’s career. Or, at least kept him away for a while.
Heath is a very rounded fighter, and will win this fight. Not knocking Machida, but think Heath is way better than many on this thread thinks
How long will this event be? Does anyone know? I mean on pay-per-view with no commercials (of the network kind) a 3 hour event only yeilds 5-7 fights for them. On regular tv with spike trying to get theres how many fights are they gonna have time to show? Or will Spike say the show must go on and show them all?
show em all at least this one time PLEASE!!!
I called for this check the blogs!!!!!!!
I still give the UFC props for a very daring card. Werdum v. AA and Griffin v. Machida were refreshing against what we have been seeing lately. ‘
Lyoto will still have a chance to showcase himself to the new MMA fans. Well, if it doesnt get dropped down into John Fitch territory…I just dont get it….
lyoto is the best ever what a hidden gem
It´s time to Lyoto to have a nickname. My suggestion: “Smooth Operator”