Following car accident and head injury, Matt Grice removed from UFC 166 lineup

With UFC featherweight Matt Grice still hospitalized following a serious car accident on Sunday, his bout has been removed from next month’s UFC 166 fight card.

Grice (15-5 MMA, 2-5 UFC) was scheduled to fight Jeremy Larsen (8-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a Facebook-streamed preliminary-card bout at the Oct. 19 event, which takes place at Houston’s Toyota Center.

As reported Monday, Grice, who’s both a fighter and police officer, was hit from behind on Sunday during a multi-car accident. Grice, who was off duty at the time, suffered a head injury and underwent surgery, though details were not released.

The Oklahoma City Police Department issued a statement on Monday:

On Sunday, Sept 8th, at approximately 4pm off-duty Officer Matthew Grice (age 32) was involved in a serious multi-car accident in Shawnee, OK (accident investigated by Oklahoma Highway Patrol). The accident left him in critical condition.

Officer Grice was transported to an Oklahoma City hospital, where his status is currently listed as confidential. The Grice family has asked for privacy as they deal with this sudden and unfortunate situation.

Grice’s friend, Daniel Rubenstein, has been providing periodic updates.

As he tweeted Monday night: “Matt is still sedated. Pupils reacting to light. Another catscan planned for tonight sometime. Matt’s wife went home to be with their girls.”

The UFC also released a statement: “The UFC sends its thoughts and prayers to featherweight Matt Grice, who was involved in a serious auto accident over the weekend in his native Oklahoma that required surgery. Grice is currently in the intensive care unit and more details on his condition will be posted as they are received.”

Grice (15-5 MMA, 2-5 UFC), a four-time state high school wrestling champion who received a scholarship from the University of Oklahoma, most recently appeared at UFC 157 in February, where he suffered a hard-fought decision loss to Dennis Bermudez. Both competitors won “Fight of the Night” bonuses for the effort.

Grice is 1-2 (2011-present) in his current UFC stint following a 1-3 run in his first (2007-2009).

Stay tuned for additional updates as they become available.

For the latest on UFC 166, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.