A highly anticipated lightweight matchup between Josh Thomson and Michael Chandler at Bellator 154 on May 14 is off because of an undisclosed injury to Thomson.
Bellator officials have confirmed that Thomson suffered an injury and that both he and Chandler have been pulled from the card. An announcement on Chandler's next fight has not been made.
To replace the lightweight bout, which was scheduled to co-headline the event, Bellator has added a heavyweight matchup between Sergei Kharitonov (23-5) and Josh Appelt (12-5). The bout will mark Kharitonov's promotional debut.
FloCombat.com first reported that Thomson is injured.
A former Strikeforce titleholder, Thomson (22-8) has won back-to-back fights since he signed with Bellator MMA last year. The San Jose-based lightweight was in for his biggest test yet in the Bellator cage against Chandler, a former champion. Thomson's two wins under the Bellator banner have come against overmatched opponents in Mike Bronzoulis and Pablo Villaseca.
Chandler (14-3) was looking to build on a two-fight win streak. After losing three consecutive fights between 2013 and 2014, Chandler rebounded with finishes over Derek Campos and David Rickels. The 30-year-old is 0-2 against current Bellator champion Will Brooks.
A former collegiate wrestler at the University of Missouri, Chandler fought his past two fights in St. Louis. Bellator currently has a St. Louis date on its schedule, a Dynamite 2 event June 24 at Scottrade Center. It would appear to be a potential landing spot for Chandler.