A fan favorite of many who watch The Ultimate Fighter, Thiago “Pitbull” Alves was set to fight this Saturday night for UFC 111 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., against Jon Fitch. Alves has been pulled from the card by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board due to a pre-fight CAT scan that showed irregularity.
Alves revealed that the irregularity has to do with an artery in his brain. UFC president Dana White is on top of the situation and is flying Thiago to a specialist for further evaluation, claiming the abnormality could be “career ending”. White has since changed his stance and is holding out hope that the CAT could be inaccurate, stating that the Pitbull is one of the best fighters in the world.
Alves (16-6) posted on Twitter that he hoped the welterweight rematch bout with Fitch (21-3) would be moved to UFC 112, which takes place April 10 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately for him, that isn’t how it will play out.
Ben Saunders will replace Alves at UFC 111. Ben is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If Saunders pulls off a win against Fitch, he will be next in line to fight George St. Pierre.
Saunders said, “I’m here to help them out. I’m here to fight anybody they need me to fight. It’s a great opportunity.”
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