Rizin FF Update: Mark Godbeer Out!

With a month to go until the start of the Rizin FF 8-man Grand Prix, the tournament and UKMMA has been rocked by the news that BAMMA heavyweight champion, Mark "The Hand Of" Godbeer has had to withdraw. On the same day Rizin FF announced Japanese judoka Satoshi Ishii would join the much anticipated inaugural 8-man Grand Prix title at Saitama Arena on New Year's Eve, the new promotion announced they would be a man down in the shape of Mark Godbeer. The BAMMA world heavyweight champion has sustained an unspecified neck injury in training and so will be unable to represent the UK at the event. Godbeer- who claimed his title by outclassing Paul Taylor in June of this year- was allowed to miss BAMMA: Night of Champions in Birmingham last month in order to represent the promotion in Japan. BAMMA will now look to find another representative at short notice, although there is no confirmation yet of who that might be. However, Stuart "He-Man" Austin, who claimed the world interim title during Godbeer's absence is surely a likely candidate, assuming he managed to emerge from his entertaining back-and-forth bout with Thomas Denham relatively unscathed. Whoever is selected will compete with fighters from Jungle Fights, Bellator, IGF and more on a card which should see the return of Russian heavyweight legend, Fedor Emelianenko.