Rich Attonito Replaces Injured Pascal Krauss, Meets Gunnar Nelson at UFC on FUEL TV 5

Haraldur Dean Nelson, Gunnar Nelson’s father and head of ADCC Iceland, announced on Sunday that “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 cast member Rich Attonito would replace injured German boxer Pascal Krauss as an opponent for his son. On Monday, the UFC revealed that Attonito would not be taking the fight due to weight-cut concerns. Instead, “TUF 9” veteran DaMarques Johnson will square off with Nelson at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England on Sept. 29.

It was a training injury to Krauss that initially triggered the series of bout revisions. Krauss received a strong knee strike to the ribcage while sparring on Saturday morning and had to be rushed to the hospital after complaining of chest pain. Doctors at Freiburg University Hospital diagnosed severely bruised ribs, an inflamed chest muscle and a dislocated vertebra, rendering the 25-year-old “Panzer” unable to compete on Sept. 29.

“I can’t laugh, can’t cough, can’t talk loudly or sleep without waking up at least 10 times at night,” Krauss told Sherdog.com. “I tried getting over the pain using medication, but it was just too strong. I am devastated as it’s already the second time I had to cancel a fight due to injury. I apologize to Gunnar and his camp, I would have loved nothing more than being able to compete with him. I was looking forward to this fight so much.”

A 30-year-old representative of Elite Performance, Johnson will take the fight against Nelson on two weeks’ notice. “Darkness” was last seen in action in August, where he suffered a first-round knockout against Mike Swick at UFC on Fox 4.

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