Canadian based XMMA has suffered a few high-profile casualties for its Feb. 27 event, "Inferno," but the organization has responded quickly by adding another much-discussed athlete to the card.
Phil Baroni (13-10) and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (6-1) have been scratched from the "XMMA 7: Inferno" in Montreal, while controversial welterweight War Machine (6-2) has stepped in on two weeks' notice.
The changed were noted in separate reports from Fiveouncesofpain.com.
Santos, currently riding a six-fight win streak, has suffered a shoulder injury according to the report. "Cyborg" rose to prominence in 2008 through two exciting, hard-hitting performances in EliteXC.
It was recently announced that Strikeforce had acquired Santos' contract in a $3 million purchase of select ProElite assets. Rumors have been circulating that Strikeforce is hoping to arrange a long-desired bout between Santos and fellow female superstar Gina Carano for its April 11 Showtime-broadcast card, but no official announcements have been made.
Scheduled for the the XMMA's main event, Baroni has withdrawn from "Inferno" according to an additional report from Fiveouncesofpain.com. No official reason was noted in the report.
Baroni's contract was also recently acquired by Strikeforce, and the "New York Bad Ass" announced on the Underground, a popular mixed martial arts message board, that he would be fighting for the organization in an as-yet-unannounced May event in Seattle.
Stepping in for Baroni on short notice for the bout with undefeated Guillaume de Lorenzi (5-0) is the always-entertaining War Machine.
The oft-discussed War Machine, recently known as much for his ranting MySpace postings, controversial opinions and outside of the cage activities, will look to build on a November 2008 knockout win over David Anderson.
War Machine was recently cut from the soon-to-debut Bellator Fighting Championships, reportedly for his controversial statements regarding President Barack Obama. The 27-year-old has since apologized for the remarks and has now signed with Ken Pavia and MMAagents.com as he looks to rebuild a once-promising career.
