Red Deer, Alta.’s Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald has been forced to pull out of his Dec. 11 UFC fight in Montreal because of lingering effects from the serious leg injury he suffered in May, the fighter told sportsnet.ca.
“There was no re-injury to the ankle. It’s just that once I stepped up the intensity in training to the level necessary to be able fight, my ankle was not able to sustain it,” MacDonald told sportsnet.ca. “I was hoping that I would be able to fight in December in Montreal, but I need to take a couple more months to take it to the strength it needs to be. I just need a little bit more time.”
MacDonald was scheduled to take on Rafael Natal at UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck at the Bell Centre. He broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg and dislocated the ankle going to the ground in his fight against John Salter at UFC 113 on May 8, also in Montreal.
Programming note: Tune into Sportsnet ONE on Saturday, Oct. 23 for live coverage of the preliminary card from UFC 121 beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. The prelims will feature Canadian Patrick (The Predator) Cote taking on (Filthy) Tom Lawlor as well as Ultimate Fighter Season 11 winner Court McGee versus Ryan Jensen.
Fellow Canadian Jesse (Water) Bongfeldt will replace MacDonald and make his UFC debut against Natal, according to posts on Bongfeldt’s Facebook page. The fighter from Kenora, Ont., is a former welterweight champion of the Montreal-based TKO Championship Fighting, but now fights at middleweight.
Bongfeldt, who has not fought in over a year, will join fellow Canadian Georges St-Pierre, who defends his welterweight belt against Josh Koscheck in the main event, as well as Mark Bocek, Joe Doerksen, T.J. Grant and John Makdessi, who was recently added to the card against Pat Audinwood and will also be making his Octagon debut.
