The plague of illnesses and injuries in the UFC has claimed another victim.
The company issued a press release today stating that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his fight against Cain Velasquez at UFC 108 due to a "severe elbow injury."
However, at the UFC 105 post-fight press conference on Saturday, UFC president Dana White announced Nogueira has a staph infection.
With the original main event scrapped, Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva will now headline the card, which takes place Jan. 2, 2010 in Las Vegas.
"The bout between Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva is a fight we always talked about as a main event, and now these guys have the chance to headline UFC 108 and kick off the new year in impressive fashion," White said in the release. "At the same time, we wish Antonio Nogueira a speedy recovery and can't wait for his return."
A number of potential fights have been either scrapped or put on hold recently.
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was hospitalized over the weekend for mono and another undisclosed condition. White indicated Lesnar's medical condition is "not good," but refused to provide further details.
"He's in a hospital up in North Dakota somewhere right now," he said. "He went to Canada and some bad stuff happened to him, so we've got to figure it out.
"I am worried about it. You know, I can't really talk about it right now, but he's in rough shape. He's in really bad shape. We're going to have to do some stuff to take care of this guy. He is not well and he's not getting any better."
Lesnar isn't the only champion unable to defend his belt at the moment.
Following his close decision victory over Mauricio Rua, light-heavyweight titleholder Lyoto Machida underwent hand surgery and will be out of action until at least February.
Middleweight champion Anderson Silva is on the shelf indefinitely after having elbow surgery.
Rumoured card for UFC 108:
- Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
- Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham
- Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley
- Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller
- Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
- Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller
- Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen
Jose Rodriguez is the Editor-in-Chief of the Calgary Sun and the mixed-martial-arts writer for Sun Media - Canada's largest newspaper chain. Rodriguez professes to be a fan of the sport since "before it was fashionable" and has written hundreds of columns on mixed martial arts.
Neil Springer has been reporting on mixed martial arts since early 2007. However, his obsession with the sport began in 2002 when he first watched the PRIDE Fighting Championships 2000 Grand Prix. He enjoys long walks on the beach and spinning high kicks -- preferably at the same time.
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