London, Ont.’s Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout is out of his upcoming UFC 137 fight against Dennis Siver, a source with his team confirmed to sportsnet.ca on Monday night.
The Canadian withdrew from the lightweight bout, which was scheduled for Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. No reason was given, but Stout’s longtime trainer and brother-in-law Shawn Tompkins died unexpectedly just over two weeks ago.
The matchup with Siver, a fellow kickboxer, was one the 27-year-old and his camp had been eyeing for some time.
Last week, Stout’s Adrenaline Training Centre teammate Chris Horodecki also pulled out of a lightweight contest at Freedom Fight MMA event set for Sept. 10 in Sudbury.
The UFC announced that Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone will replace Stout in the fight against Siver, which is expected to appear on the main card. UFC 137 is headlined by the welterweight title bout between champion Georges St-Pierre and former Strikeforce belt-holder Nick Diaz.
Chris Clements, also of ATC in London, said Tuesday that Stout is going to have to change up everything in his preparation since he has never had a training camp without Tompkins, even travelling to Las Vegas where his trainer was based the past four years. Stout is also naturally concerned for his sister Emilie, who was widowed by Tompkins’ passing.
Clements, who himself withdrew of a scheduled bout on Oct. 15 against Marcus Davis, said with a number of guys at the gym pulling out of fights there are many less training partners available.
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Clements, a welterweight, was going to face the lightweight Davis at a catchweight of 165 pounds and he he still wanted to do it — “I’m one of those bull-headed guys,” he said — but he was convinced by his teammates not to.
Clements, who was with Tompkins the night before he died, said he gained seven pounds the ensuing week. He is also getting married next month.
He hopes to instead fight in December for Instinct MMA, the new promotion headed by former TKO Championship Fighting president Stephane Patry…
UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick, who co-owns ATC with Stout and Horodecki, said each fighter is dealing with the loss of their coach in their own way. He is still off — also with the birth of his first daughter — but hopes to fight again in Toronto at UFC 140 on Dec. 10.
