Originally Posted by MMAWeekly.com

(Additional Reporting: Steven Marrocco, Jeff Cain, and Damon Martin)

Following an abundance of conflicting information, MMAWeekly.com can confirm that Thiago Alves has withdrawn from his scheduled UFC 107 bout with fellow top contender Jon Fitch.

The news of his withdrawal came early Friday morning from Ariel Helwani at MMA Fanhouse. Attempts to confirm the report brought conflicting information, but there was good reason for that. Alves himself was unsure of his status.

Alves tore a posterior cruciate ligament, one of the four major ligaments that stabilize the knee joint. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to rematch Fitch, he wanted to try and fight through the injury and remain in the Dec. 12 bout.

The two fought a little over three years ago at UFC Fight Night 5, where Fitch won late in the second round by a TKO stoppage.

Alves’ camp tried to get the bout moved to a later date, but all the fight cards within reason were already booked.

The injury would take at least three to four weeks to heal properly, and with the fight just six weeks away, that would leave Alves virtually no time to prepare for a fighter of Fitch’s caliber.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed and Alves relented, as American Top Team representative Dan Lambert confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that due to the knee injury his fighter would not compete at UFC 107.

Both fighters have come up short in attempts to wrest the UFC welterweight title from current number one ranked welterweight Georges St. Pierre and were looking to their showdown as a springboard back to title contention.

Fitch (19-3) is currently number two in the welterweight division, while Alves (16-6) sits at number four.

Fitch is expected to remain on the Memphis, Tenn., fight card, which features a main event title bout between UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez, but at the time of publication, it is unclear whom he will face.

Originally Posted by MMAMania

UFC 107: Jon Fitch vs Mike Pierce booked with Thiago Alves hurt


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The third time will hopefully be the charm for Jon Fitch (19-3) now that up-and-coming welterweight Mike Pierce (10-1) has agreed to step up and face him at UFC 107 from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.

Pierce was originally slated to meet Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 20 until “Kos” was promoted to the UFC 106 co-main event opposite Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Like Pierce, Fitch was left without an opponent when Ricardo Almeida injured his knee and withdrew from their UFC 106 bout on Nov. 21. Zuffa worked a little magic and booked him in a rematch of former number one welterweight contenders opposite Thiago Alves on Dec. 12; however, “Pitbull” also went down with a knee injury and was forced to bow out.

Fitch returned to the Octagon at UFC 100 to exact revenge against submission specialist Paulo Thiago, taking the contest via unanimous decision. The Brazilian stunned his good friend and American Kickboxing Academy training partner, Josh Koscheck, with a fight-ending first round uppercut at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson” earlier this year.

The Purdue University wrestler now boasts 10 victories for the promotion in 11 attempts. The lone blemish on his record is to welterweight deity Georges “Rush” St. Pierre in their championship match from UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” in Aug. 2008.

And the competition isn’t getting any easier.


Pierce recently stunned quite a few fans in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 19, registering a convincing unanimous decision over the super tough Brock Larson. It was just the third loss in Larson’s impressive career. And it marked six straight wins for the surging Pierce.

Despite his recent success, Pierce will no doubt be a heavy underdog on fight night when he gets locked inside the cage opposite the 11-fight UFC veteran.

UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion, BJ Penn, defending his title against number one division contender, Diego Sanchez. In the co-featured fight of the night, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir will “begin his quest for a third title” when he takes on Cheick Kongo.

Originally Posted by MMAMania

UFC 108: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez in the works


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Former UFC interim heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, is in talks to take on undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 108, which is slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2.

Sensei Sportv (via Tatame.com) was the first to report the potential showdown. No official announcement has come from the promotion, or Velasquez’s camp, at this time.

Stay tuned.

UFC 108 is expected to feature a reshuffled main event between ailing heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar (if he can recover from a serious illness), and number one division contender, Shane Carwin. Former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, is currently penciled in to collide with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, in the co-featured fight of the night.