Antonio Carlos Junior says he's out of UFC 231 fight with Elias Theodorou again

Gallery Elias Theodorou def. Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 130: Best photos view 9 images

The on, off, on-again fight between Antonio Carlos Junior and Elias Theodorou is back off again.

Junior (10-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) today tweeted at Theodorou (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) that the injury that took him out of the pair’s original matchup at UFC Fight Night 137 on Sept. 22 in Sao Paulo is taking longer to heal than anticipated, and surgery will keep him out of their rebooked meeting at UFC 231 in December.

“Hey @EliasTheodorou Really sorry man! The injury I had is a little more serious then I thought,” “Shoeface” wrote on Twitter. “I’ll need a surgery, so won’t be able to fight Dec 8th. Pity, I was going to give you a bjj lesson, and not hurt you cause your cool!!!”

UFC 231 takes place Dec. 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC officials have not made a formal announcement of the fight’s removal.

UFC 231 is far enough away that Theodorou likely will remain on the card against a replacement opponent. After a bonus-winning knockout win over Tim Williams at UFC Fight Night 135, Eryk Anders called for a fight against Theodorou. Once Theodorou was booked to fight Junior, Anders earlier this month tweeted that he would be ready to step in if either fighter fell off the card in Toronto. So Anders may just get his wish in the near future.

Theordorou is coming off a decision-win over Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 130, which upped his current winning streak to two fights. Theordorou called for a bout with Lyoto Machida after his most recent win, but that became impossible once Machida signed with Bellator.

Carlos Junior is riding high after a first-round submission of Tim Boetsch in April at UFC on FOX 29. The win extended Junior’s streak to five fights, prompting him to call for more marquee opponents. But now he’ll be on the shelf for the near future.

Gallery Antonio Carlos Junior def. Tim Boetsch at UFC on FOX 29: Best photos view 9 images

The UFC 231 lineup currently includes:

Champ Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title

Chad Laprise vs. Dhiego Lima

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Gilbert Burns

Elias Theodorou vs. TBA

Kyle Bochniak vs. Hakeem Dawodu

Devin Clark vs. Aleksandar Rakic

Nina Ansaroff vs. Claudia Gadelha

For more on UFC 231, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Gallery Eryk Anders def. Tim Williams at UFC Fight Night 135: Best photos view 9 images

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