When Luis Henrique underwent eye surgery, he didn’t anticipate being removed from the UFC 208 card for it.
Henrique was set for a heavyweight scrap with Marcin Tybura in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) first event in Brooklyn, NY. The Brazilian heavyweight was dealt a blow when he found out he’d be unable to compete inside the Barclays Center this Saturday night (Feb. 11).
The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) pulled “KLB” from the card last week. Henrique recently spoke with MMAJunkie.com and admitted he didn’t expect to be yanked from the card:
“The athletic commission surprised me by saying I couldn’t fight due to my surgery. They claimed that because of the type of incision, and the way it heals, it could come out of place. I asked my doctor, and she said that’s impossible. There’s no way. My doctor told me this procedure is very, very common. I was very nearsighted. I waited my entire life for the surgery. I waited until my prescription stabilized so I could have it done. So when the opportunity came up for me to do it, I went ahead. I had it done right after facing Francis Ngannou.”
It’s an unfortunate turn for Henrique, who is coming off two straight wins. After getting knocked out by rising prospect Francis Ngannou, “KLB” rebounded with a submission win over Dmitry Smoliakov. He followed up that performance by submitting Christian Colombo in his next outing.
Before making his UFC debut, Henrique mostly fought for Watch Out Combat Show. He earned a 6-0 record under the promotion with three of those wins being finishes.
His only loss on the regional circuit was his third professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout. It was a TKO defeat at the hands of Sultan Aliev, who is now also on the UFC roster as a welterweight.
