Saturday, June 20, 2009

UFC grants Mostapha Al Turk another shot; fighter's camp unhappy with Miragliotta

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

Heavyweight Mostapha Al Turk's (6-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) six-month run in the UFC hasn't gone exactly as planned.

After suffering a devastating loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 92 in December 2008, Al Turk was defeated by Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at this past Saturday's UFC 99 after an eye poke led to a finishing flurry from the Croatian striker.

Paul Ivens, Al Turk's instructor and co-founder of the heavyweight's London Shootfighters camp, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the UFC has offered the English heavyweight another shot – but don't expect to see referee Dan Miragliotta in the cage next time.

"The UFC has said Mostapha will get another fight." Ivens said. "It's kind of one of those things that was confirmed, but we knew would probably happen beforehand as well, going into the fight on short notice and things like that. It's a tough fight the UFC gave us. Both of the fights have been tough so far."

Al Turk had been expected to face fellow prospect Todd Duffee on the evening's preliminary card until Filipovic was brought in on less-than-two-weeks' notice. Ivens said the combination of the short notice and unfortunate ending to the bout probably both contributed to Al Turk earning a third shot at his first UFC win.

"I think it's a bit of both," Ivens said. "I think beforehand we knew that they were going to look after him for taking the fight on short notice – and more-so afterward, as well. The fight was unfortunate."

Click here to read the entire article at MMAjunkie.com

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