Chance Rencountre hospitalized for punctured lung, broken ribs from Andrey Koreshkov’s Bellator 274 kick

So you want to be a fighter?

[autotag]Chance Rencountre[/autotag] is in rough shape after his Bellator debut ended violently in favor of opponent [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag].

The bout was the Bellator 274 co-main event Saturday and ended in 38 seconds after Koreshkov (24-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) spin-kicked Rencountre (16-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the upper right torso.

MMA Junkie, who was on scene for the event, witnessed Rencountre leave the arena under his own power, though he moved gingerly and favored his upper body.

Sunday, his manager, Brian Butler of SuckerPunch Entertainment, revealed in an Instagram post Rencountre suffered a punctured lung and five broken ribs.

The injuries hospitalized Rencountre, who according to Butler, is in good spirits as he prepares for surgery. Butler also shared an image of the x-ray and a picture of Rencountre in his hospital bed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaNoSjep342/

Bellator 274 took place Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 7-13.

Chance Rencountre confused, yet motivated by UFC’s decision not to re-sign him

Chance Rencountre understands the UFC is a business, but he can’t wrap his head around his promotional departure.

[autotag]Chance Rencountre [/autotag]understands the UFC is a business, but he can’t wrap his head around his promotional departure.

A four-fight veteran under the promotion’s banner, Rencountre (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is currently a free agent. After he fought out his deal, the UFC chose not to re-sign him. This, despite winning two of his past three fights.

“I felt like I had earned my way and put in the years,” Rencountre told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I belong. I don’t feel like any of those guys were exceptionally better. I got beat, but it happens.”

Overall, Rencountre said he’s “confused” by the decision. Initially, confusion was mixed with hurt. The 33-year-old fighter said he’s since transitioned the negative feelings into motivation.

“I’m kind of just confused,” Rencountre said. “I’m taken aback by it. I can’t give you any explanation. Maybe because I wasn’t available at a certain point in time? Hopefully, I can get back in there eventually. I can’t predict the future, especially with the epidemic going on right now. It’s chaos in the world. I’m just going to get back to training.

” If anything it motivated me. I can go a couple ways about this. At first, I was hurt. I won two fights and lost one. I broke my orbital in my last fight. Of course, I didn’t know it until after the (expletive) fight. I broke it in two places. Just to get swept under the rug, I guess? I understand it’s business. They’ve got to make money. At first I was kind of hurt about it, but now I’m like, ‘I still need to prove something.’ I’m the man to do it.”

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One way or another, Rencountre plans on making the UFC walk again. He said he enjoyed his experience with the promotion, despite the confusing ending. Whether it’s rebuilding himself on the regional scene or taking a fight on short notice, Rencountre said he’s game.

“I want to be at one of the top organizations, of course,” Rencountre said. “If I have to go back and whip a couple guys on this regional scene, then I’ll do it. It is what it is. It sucks to make decent money, then go back to fighting guys for pennies when you felt like you’ve proved yourself already.

“… I’d love to get on the Oklahoma City card. There’s going to be a card here at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. I talked about that one. They’re supposed to be back-to-back weekends. I’d take either one of those. I live an hour and a half away from there right now. That’d be dope. I’d love to get back to business.”

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UFC parts ways with welterweight Chance Rencountre, lightweight Kyle Prepolec

The UFC roster just got a little bit smaller with the departures of Chance Rencountre and Kyle Prepolec.

The UFC roster has gotten a little bit smaller.

In recent days, the promotion has parted ways with welterweight [autotag]Chance Rencountre[/autotag] and lightweight [autotag]Kyle Prepolec[/autotag].

A person with knowledge of the roster move confirmed Rencountre’s departure to MMA Junkie.

Rencountre (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) split four UFC appearances dating back to his promotional debut in June 2018. Taking a fight on short notice against Belal Muhammad, Rencountre was able to last 15 minutes, but lost a unanimous decision.

In his sophomore UFC appearance, Rencountre earned his first promotional win against Kyle Stewart. Rencountre submitted Stewart by first-round rear-naked choke in January 2019. The success continued in his third UFC fight, when Rencountre upset heavy favorite Ismail Naurdiev at UFC 239 in July 2019.

In Rencountre’s most recent fight at UFC 244 this past November, he was knocked out by Lyman Good. That fight landed him on the chopping block.

As for Prepolec, the Canadian lightweight confirmed his release on Twitter on Friday. The 30-year-old lost decisions to Nordine Taleb and Austin Hubbard before getting his pink slip.

“Was fun while it lasted once everything is done and settled I’ll get the ball rolling and get back in there,” Prepolec posted. “Thank you for the opportunity @ufc @UFC_CA. I’ll prove myself worthy again. Time to get back to work. Time to be better then ever before.”

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