Calgary Hit Again by Injury Bug

The summer's outbreak of injuries has spread again on the UFC 149 card, with Canadian Claude Patrick the latest athlete forced out of a planned bout.

Brian Ebersole -- coming off a hard-fought, impressive win at UFC on FX June 22 -- has verbally agreed to step in to face James Head in the welterweight match-up.

Riddle Replaces Injured Siyar in UFC 149 Bout updated July 1
Welterweight striker Siyar Bahadurzada is the latest casualty of the UFC 149 injury bug, as he's been forced from his July 21st bout with Chris Clements. Stepping in this month to face "The Menace" in Calgary will be Matthew Riddle.

Another Featherweight Change, Bantam Addition to UFC 149 updated June 26
An injury in training camp for George Roop is another opportunity for Daniel Pineda, who steps up to face Canadian prospect Antonio Carvalho on July 21st in Calgary at UFC 149. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the featherweight match-up.

Also announced for that date, hard-hitting bantamweight Francisco Rivera has verbally agreed to take on quickly-rising Canadian prospect Roland Delorme.

Jordan to Face Kongo at UFC 149 after Big Nog Injury updated June 16
With heavyweight legend "Minotauro" Nogueira forced out of July 21st's UFC 149 event in Calgary due to injury, up and comer Shawn Jordan will get the biggest opportunity of his young career when he battles longtime contender Cheick Kongo.

Jordan, winner of four of his last five, is coming off a second round TKO of Oli Thompson in his UFC debut in March. This summer, he'll look to hand Kongo his second consecutive defeat.

Aldo-Koch scratched from UFC 149; Faber-Barao New Main Event updated June 9
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that there will be a new five-round main event at the upcoming sold-out UFC® 149 event, set to take place at the Scotiabank Saddledome, in Calgary, Alberta, on July 21.

Injury to Brazilian Jose Aldo has forced the postponement of his featherweight title bout vs Erik Koch and Calgary will now see a new main event with the interim UFC® bantamweight title bout between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao now taking place. The Faber-Barao fight was originally slated for UFC® 148 on July 7th.

Faber, the former WEC featherweight champion who is 3-1 at 135 lbs, faces the owner of the longest unbeaten streak in mixed martial arts in Barao. The Brazilian ‘Baron’ has not lost in 27 straight fights and has stormed his way to the top of the UFC’s 135 lbs division beating - in succession - Cole Escovedo, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen.

Calgary’s card also awaits news of another bout to be announced later as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s bout against Thiago Silva was scratched due to an injury to Silva injury, and Rua was subsequently moved to headline the UFC’s August 4th event in Los Angeles vs Brandon Vera.

updated: In yet another change to the UFC 149 card, Bibano Fernandes is out of his bantamweight bout against Canadian prospect Roland Delorme. A new opponent for Delorme will be named shortly.

UFC 149: Bisping Out, Lombard In, Shogun Reassigned updated June 6
UFC 149 and UFC on FOX 4 have swapped stars after another pair of injuries shook up the summer fight scene today.

British middleweight Michael Bisping has been injured and is out of his UFC 149 bout against rising force Tim Boetsch. Stepping in to meet "The Barbarian" will be Hector Lombard, a former Cuban Olympian who rides a 25-fight unbeaten streak into his Octagon debut.

Lombard had been slated to fight Brian Stann in the main event of UFC on FOX 4 in August, but was left opponentless earlier today after Stann was forced to withdraw due to injury. That event got a new headliner in the form of Shogun Rua, who'd been left orphaned on the UFC 149 fight card after planned opponent Thiago Silva was hurt.

Two Thiagos Injured, Off Canada Card updated June 4
Two of the UFC's top Thiagos have suffered injuries forcing them off the UFC 149 fight card, as Thiago Alves is out of his bout against Siyar Bahadurzada, while Thiago Silva has had to withdraw from his co-main bout against former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua.

Stepping in to the welterweight bout in Alves' place is Chris Clements, a striker from London, Ontario, Canada, who won his UFC debut at UFC 145 in April.

A new opponent for Rua will be named soon.

In more UFC 149 news, highly-touted Bibiano Fernandes is joining the growing line for a crack at the UFC bantamweight title, and his first test inside the Octagon will be against Canadian prospect Roland Delorme.

Agreements are also in for a welterweight match between 8-2 James Head and Canada’s 14-2 Claude "The Prince" Patrick.

All three of the new bouts have been verbally agreed upon by the fighters.

Aldo, Shogun Fights Confirmed for Canada updated May 9
Several long-rumored fights were made official at the UFC 149 press conference held May 9 in Calgary.

Reigning UFC® featherweight champion Jose Aldo is undefeated in the UFC as he puts his belt on the line against knockout artist Erik Koch. Considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, Aldo has reeled off 14 straight wins and has not lost since 2005. For his part, the 22-year-old Koch has but one career loss and has won four straight with two Knockout of the Night awards in those performances.

Plus, former light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua brings star power to the north as he faces off against fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva.

Top ten middleweights Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch and Michael "The Count" Bisping will square off in a battle that could have major implications for the 185 title picture. This bout was originally scheduled for the UFC 148 card in Las Vegas, but bumped when the original UFC 147 main event, Silva vs. Sonnen 2, was moved to UFC 148.

Tom Wright, director of the UFC's Canadian operations, also announced that Edmonton's Ryan Jimmo would compete at UFC 149. Winner of sixteen straight fights, the light heavyweight will make his UFC debut against Anthony "The Hippo" Perosh, who has finished his last three opponents.

Siyar Replaces Akiyama, Meets Alves in Calgary updated May 8
After a spectacular UFC debut in April that netted him a 42 second knockout of Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada will jump right back into action at UFC 149 in Calgary when he replaces the injured Yoshihiro Akiyama against longtime welterweight contender Thiago Alves. The bout will take place at Scotiabank Saddledome on July 21st.

Big Nog vs. Kongo on Tap for July updated April 25
Two feared heavyweights will return to the cage this summer in Calgary, as verbal agreements are in for Cheick Kongo and former champ Minotauro Nogueira to do battle July 21.

Sexyama Fights Pitbull This Summer updated April 10
This summer's Calgary fight card has received a dose of star power from two of the most exciting fighters in the welterweight division who've agreed to face off at UFC 149. Judo black belt Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama will battle BJJ brown belt Thiago "Pitbull" Alves in a matchup between ground specialists who love to stand and trade.

Also in Calgary, rangy George Roop will take on one of Canada's top featherweights, BJJ black belt Antonio Carvalho.

Calgary Fight Card Coming Together updated April 6
Verbal agreements are trickling in for UFC 149, set for Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, July 21, with a trio of bouts now on tap.

A middleweight rematch will go down between Alberta's own Nick Ring and Court McGee. Ring won a controversial decision over McGee in the first round of Ultimate Fighter season 11. McGee got back into the competition due to a dropout and would have faced Ring again, but then Ring was injured and forced to withdraw. McGee went on to eventually win the season.

Bantamweight Bryan Caraway will be taking on Canadian Mitch Gagnon. Caraway is a WEC and UFC veteran and an Ultimate Fighter alum, while Gagnon is one of Canada's best bantamweight prospects and a proven finisher who's never gone to the scorecards.

Two returning lightweights, Finland’s Anton Kuivanen and Canada’s Mitch Clarke, will look to earn their first Octagon wins and stake out their spot in the division.

The main event is expected to be a title defense for reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo against an opponent to be named.