In the Cage – MFC 37 Loses Main Event, Spong to Fight at GLORY 9, UFC Cuts Two

Each day, The MMA Corner will provide a recap of results, event announcements, fight match-ups, and injuries/cancellations from throughout the world of MMA.

Just days before Maximum Fighting Championship’s 37th event, “True Grit” takes place, the fight card has lost its main event.

Heavyweight title challenger and headliner Chris Barnett was not cleared by doctors after multiple holes were discovered in his retina. With very little time to find a suitable replacement for undefeated Canadian Smealinho Rama, the promotion has scrapped the contest entirely.

As a result, a bantamweight bout between Ryan Benoit and Anthony Birchak will now take the night’s top billing.

MFC 37 airs live on AXS TV beginning at 10 p.m. ET with a four-fight preliminary card streaming live on Facebook at 8:30 p.m.

A week after withdrawing from the World Series of Fighting 3 event, Tyrone Spong has entered a kickboxing tournament for the Glory promotion. The event is scheduled to be a one night single-elimination.

Glory 9 is scheduled to occur on June 22 from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City with the tournament winner taking home $200,000.

Both Antonio Carvalho and Pablo Garza have confirmed that they’ve been cut from the UFC. Garza was in the midst of a 1-3 run that saw him drop fights to Dustin Poirier, Dennis Bermudez, and Diego Brandao. He did secure a surprising victory over former title challenger Mark Hominick.

Carvalho’s release comes on the heels of a TKO loss to Darren Elkins in March. Prior to the Elkins loss, Carvalho had enjoyed a 15-5 run in MMA.

The UFC has announced a three-year agreement with BT group. The deal is expected to offer comprehensive coverage of the UFC which also includes programming specific to the UK and Irish audiences. The deal is expected to be similar to the UFC’s partnership with Fuel TV.

With the new deal in place, the UFC is expected to cross the pond more frequently than once a year.

Xtreme Fighting Championships has announced a lightweight battle on their XFC 24 card. Kevin “The Master of Cool” will take on Eric “It’s a Wrap” Reynolds.  Forant is undefeated at 5-0 and will be fighting for the first time out of the Carolinas region. Reynolds sports a 16-6 record and will look to bounce back from his failed title bid last Dec. against Nick Newell.

XFC 24 is scheduled to take place on June 14 from the USF SunDome in Tampa, FL.