Nick Catone forced to withdraw from UFC Fight Night 22 - Shoulder Surgery Thursday

I just received an email from UFC Middleweight Nick Catone.  Unfortunately it is not good news.  Apparently Catone's back is still in rough shape and he has been receiving cortisone and epidoral shots to help ease the pain, but his body seems to have stopped responding to the treatment.  Catone is scheduled for surgery and will begin his road to recovery. 

"Had to pull out of the fight. Getting shoulder surgery on Thursday".  "Getting epidoral shots in my back, which is still banged up, the following week".

Nick is extremely bummed out right now with all of this, but he knows he has to get healthy.  He's young and has a long career ahead of him.  "Not worth getting in there at 75%.  I've been getting through training with cortisone shots the last year and a half. That's no longer helping with the pain and it's only making it worse". 

Nick was extremely anxious to be getting back in the Octagon and picking up a win against Tomasz Drwal at UFC Fight Night 22.  Catone's teammate, David Branch has stepped up to take the fight in Nick's place.  Nick is confident that Branch will bring home a victory for their team. 

The timing for this is terrible as the grand opening of Nick Catone's Mixed Martial Arts Academy is scheduled for late September and a big win against Drwal would have helped promote the opening.  We here at TheGARV will be there at the opening to support Nick and his team.  Also attending the grand opening festivities will be Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and UFC Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar. 

Nick Catone's Mixed Martial Arts Academy

1930 Rt. 88 Suite 9 Brick, NJ 08724

We wish Nick a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in the Octagon as soon as possible.