Injuries hit hard at top of card for UFC 130

Both fighters sustained injuries while training.

Edgar retained his belt in a split draw against Maynard on Jan. 1 but injured his back and ribs and decided he could not take the fight.

Maynard, who trains at Xtreme Couture, suffered a knee injury and a cut on his face.

”Yeah, it does suck,” Maynard said in a text on Monday to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I got a couple of injuries that I’m healing, too. My knee and (I) just got these stitches out of my eye, so we’ll see what happens.

“Hopefully, me and Edgar can just finish this thing next,” Maynard texted.

Maynard, a Las Vegas resident, won the first meeting against Edgar in 2008.

“Gray is just devastated,” Maynard’s father, Jan Maynard, told the Plain Dealer. “His whole focus is on the title.”

According to Heavy.com, Anthony Pettis was offered the fight against Maynard when Edgar dropped out, and Pettis quickly accepted. Pettis was informed, however, that Maynard would not be able to fight on the card, either.

Pettis is scheduled to fight Clay Guida in the main event of a June 4 card at the Palms. He has been promised a future title shot should he beat Guida.

A light heavyweight bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill will move into the main event slot at UFC 130. The card also features a matchup of heavyweights from Las Vegas, with Frank Mir taking on Roy Nelson.

■ FIGHTERS SUMMIT — Even professional mixed martial artists have to sit in meetings as part of their jobs.

More than 300 fighters from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce are in town for the next few days to attend the annual Zuffa fighters summit, which opened Monday.

During the event, at Red Rock Resort, fighters will attend conferences and discuss a variety of topics affecting the organization and individual participants.

“It is part of our educational program to work with fighters to learn tools that will benefit them in their professional careers and in life,” Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said.

On the first day of the summit, fighters were treated to news of greatly expanded accident insurance coverage to complement existing coverage.

Each of the nearly 350 fighters under contract with the company, who are considered independent contractors and not employees, will be insured for accidents that occur during training, as well as nontraining injuries that might occur — car accidents, for example.

“Our athletes are some of the very best in the world, and we’ve committed significant financial resources to provide them with insurance that complements the gold standard we have set for event-related coverage,” Fertitta said of the policy, which goes into effect June 1. “We’re pleased to provide coverage that enables our athletes to seek and receive treatment for injuries sustained while preparing for bouts.”

Zuffa will cover 100 percent of the premiums and will have an employee assigned to handle and file all claims.

Zuffa previously provided insurance for injuries occurring during events that exceeded athletic commission requirements, but fighters essentially were on their own if they were hurt during training.

■ DIAZ TO BOX? — Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz reportedly has agreed to take on former IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy in a boxing match later this year.

Diaz is seeking a shot at UFC champion Georges St. Pierre but appears ready to try his hand at boxing if he can’t secure a meeting with St. Pierre.

Diaz fought once as a professional boxer, winning in 2005 on a card in Sacramento, Calif.

■ HIERON WINS TOURNEY — Las Vegan Jay Hieron won his 10th consecutive fight, knocking off Rick Hawn in the finals of the Bellator Fighting Championships Season 4 welterweight tournament on Saturday in Newkirk, Okla..

Hieron controlled the first round and did enough to win the favor of two of the judges in the second round on his way to a split decision.

The tournament championship earned the Xtreme Couture fighter a title shot against unbeaten Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren later this year.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.