Another fight canceled for Borg, who is leaving J-W
Saturday’s scheduled UFC fight in Denver between Albuquerque’s Ray Borg and Las Cruces native Joseph Benavidez has been canceled due to a medical issue, the UFC announced Wednesday morning.
The issue, thus far undisclosed, involves Borg (11-3) and not Benavidez (25-5).
Thus, Borg’s run of misfortune continues.
Borg was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno on April 7 in Brooklyn, N.Y., but the Albuquerque flyweight took glass fragments to his left eye when UFC star Conor McGregor pushed a hand truck through a shuttlebus window in an effort to bait future opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Moreno fight was rescheduled for a UFC card in Chile the following month, but the grave illness of Borg’s infant son, Anthony, forced Borg to withdraw. And now this. The cancellation, of course, is unfortunate for Benavidez as well. Apparently, with so little time remaining before Saturday, no replacement will be sought.
For Borg, perhaps the only good news is that Anthony, his 7-month-old son with his wife, Amanda, is doing well after undergoing multiple surgeries for treatment of hydrocephalus.
Meanwhile, despite the Borg-Benavidez cancellation, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Denver has no shortage of New Mexico connections.
Lightweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (33-11), who for years has trained in Albuquerque at Jackson-Wink MMA, is matched against Mike Perry (12-3), who now trains at Jackson-Wink.
Cerrone has left Jackson-Wink in a dispute with J-W striking coach and cofounder Mike Winkeljohn, who opted to train Perry for this fight despite Cerrone’s long history with the gym.
Albuquerque bantamweight Joby Sanchez (11-3) is scheduled to face Mark De La Rosa (10-1).
The Sanchez-De La Rosa fight is scheduled for a portion of the undercard available via streaming on UFC Fight Pass, starting at 4:30 p.m. Cerrone-Perry is on the main card, which will be telecast on Fox Sports 1 starting at 8 p.m.
J-W DEPARTURES: UFC lightweight Lando Vannata (9-3-2) has left Jackson Wink. Vannata revealed his departure in an interview with mmajunkie.com prior to his draw last Saturday with Matt Frevola on UFC 230 in New York.
“Just wasn’t really happy there,” he told MMA Junkie. “Too much animosity with too many people. A lot of people I didn’t mesh with and just couldn’t go there without being on edge.”
But Cerrone and Vannata aren’t the only recent departures. Ricky Kottenstette, the former Jackson-Wink general manager, told the Journal that Borg has left J-W as well.
Vannata said he did most of his training for the Frevola fight at Cerrone’s BMF Ranch gym in Edgewood. But he also spent time at the former Jackson-Wink gym on Aztec SE, which Kottenstette said is now being run by longtime Jackson-Wink fighter Nick Urso.
Borg, Kottenstette said, also split time between BMF and the Jackson’s gym on Aztec in preparation for the now-canceled Benavidez fight. Kottenstette continues to run Jackson’s MMA Series, which staged its 26th card at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino on Oct. 27.