Ben Rothwell has been forced out of his fight this Saturday against Mirko CroCop, due to illness. Instead of canceling the fight, the UFC has rounded up an Australian fighter to step in on 1 day notice to take on the former Pride superstar. Anthony Perosh, who went 0-2 in the UFC back in 2006, will now face the Croatian fighter. CroCop also sustained a facial laceration, which required stitches, but will fight despite the injury.

Also, the Elvis Sinosic vs Chris Haseman bout, has been taken off the card, after Sinosic suffered a shoulder injury. This fight was not scheduled to be televised and was more for the local audience, as both fighters are Australian.

If CroCop loses this fight, he should immediately retire and never think about coming back. UFC 110 airs tomorrow on PPV.

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108 and 109 are in the books and 110 marks the beginning of what is widely considered to be the start of a run of very big cards. 110 doesn't have any title fights, but the matches appeal much more than the past couple of shows. UFC President, Dana White, stated in the presser, that the winner of Nogueira vs Velasquez, will get the very first shot at Brock Lesnar. Wanderlei vs Bisping will go a long ways towards determining the middleweight contendership and several other fighters have their UFC future on the line.

Of course, there is also the fact that this is the promotion's first foray Down Under to Australia. Will this be another step towards globalization and perhaps a return to the Japanese market? Or will it be a one off with the UFC looking to greener pastures in Brazil or the Philippines?

For my fight-by-fight preview and amazing predictions, make the jump!

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Vitor Belfort has suffered a shoulder injury and will not be able to challenge middleweight champ, Anderson Silva, at UFC 112 on April 12th. UFC President, Dana White, has confirmed the news and stated that Silva will still fight on the card and that the bout will be at middleweight, even though finding a challenger might be easier at light heavyweight.

So who steps in now? Chael Sonnen is coming off of a big victory over Nate Marquardt, that is supposed to give him the next shot after Belfort, but Sonnen is medically suspended until late March, which would give him very little time to prepare for such a big fight. Damien Maia would be my choice, but he is also under medical suspension until late Summer. My prediction is Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama. Akiyama has been absent for a few months and may be ready to take on the champ in time for the April date.

Check back as a new opponent is likely to be named soon!

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Our friend, Rolles Gracie, was let go by the UFC after his disappointing performance in a loss to Joey Beltran at 109. There has been talk of an undisclosed injury that affected him, but regardless, he didn't look sharp and quickly gassed out in his Octagon debut. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as I full expected the promotion to give him one more chance to show what he is capable of, especially when he carries the respected Gracie name. Ironically, it may have been the pressure of representing that name, that perhaps led to nerves overwhelming him and spoiling his debut. Rolles is a great guy and has a bright future, whether it be in MMA or BJJ. Best of luck to him and the other fighters recently let go.

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UFC 109 is in the books and it should come as little surprise that they have trimmed their roster of under performing fighters. No doubt that these guys will find work in either smaller promotions or in directly competing shows. It is unfortunate, but it also opens up opportunities for other fighters to come in and try to make their place in the industry's leading promotion. You may be a little surprised by the cuts, which include a Hall of Famer, a TUF finalist and a highly regarded veteran.

To see who was released, make the jump!

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While the "UFC Undisputed Curse" of 2009 seems to be broken (at least until the new game comes out this Spring!), injuries are still a constant in the punishing sport of MMA. The latest big name fighter to be bitten by the bug is Martin Kampmann, who was forced out of his UFC 111 fight with Ben Saunders. Kampmann suffered a facial laceration in training and will be replaced by Jake Ellenberger. Jake was last seen dominating veteran, Mike Pyle at UFC 108.

For more fight news and announcements, make the jump!

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