With Vitor Belfort being injured again and now out of UFC 122, Yushin Okami’s new opponent is Nate Marquardt. “The Great” was recently seen pummeling Rousimar Palhares en route to a first-round TKO victory at UFC Fight Night 22. After the win, Marquardt expressed his desire to get another fight before too long and now that wish will be fulfilled.
Belfort, who has yet to actually compete in the UFC’s middleweight division (during this current stint with the promotion), is seemingly a magnet for bad luck. He had to withdraw from …

UFC welterweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson could be headed to the middleweight division if preliminary plans to move up come to fruition. Johnson’s manager Ken Pavia of MMA Agents told MMAjunkie.com that a persistent knee issue stemming from surgery has made it difficult to stay near the welterweight range.
Johnson had gained some steam with a recent three fight KO/TKO win streak but that was put to a halt when #1 contender Josh Koscheck submitted him back at UFC 106. Even before the loss, Johnson’s weight issues had been a hot topic. …

Former UFC middleweight champ Rich “Ace” Franklin tells Sportsnet.ca that he has a hernia which will be taken care of before it becomes a larger issue.
“I’m taking some time off,” he said. “I have hernia surgery scheduled next week. I have a slight tear in my upper stomach. I need to get it taken care of. Once I do that, then I’ll get back to a normal training regimen.”
The injury is the type that can progress to something much worse, so Frankilin is looking to fix it as soon as …

The injuries just do…not…stop coming for the cursed UFC 108 fight card. The latest victim of the dark cloud hanging over this show is Sean Sherk, who was stepping in as a replacement against Jim Miller. Now that he will mend his own body, former UFC fighter Duane “Bang” Ludwig has been tapped as the new opponent.
Ludwig holds the unofficial “quickest knockout” record in the organization (over Jonathan Goulet) and is coming off a TKO victory over Ryan Roberts at Ring of Fire this month. Miller is 4-1 since entering …

Bad news for UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” as word spreads today of featured bout participant Mike Swick (14-2) having withdrawn due to injury. The situation was first reported by often-unreliable news site, The Sun. 6th-Round.com has contacted Swick’s management and await confirmation.
Update: Swick responds to inquiry via Twitter
officialswick I got foot swept while sparring this week and lost my legs. Landed on back of my head and neck and suffered a pretty bad concussion.
Swick will be replaced by Paul Daley, who now meets Martin Kampmann in the welterweight showdown. …