UFC Fight Night 116 this Saturday is down a key player, as co-main event fighter Thiago Alves has withdrawn from the card. He had been scheduled in a welterweight contest against “Platinum” Mike Perry. MMA Junkie reported the news, and note that the promotion are currently looking for a replacement opponent to face Perry.
No reason was given for the withdrawal.
Alves (22-11) was coming off a unanimous decision win against Patrick Cote at UFC 210 in Buffalo this past April. That fight marked his return to the welterweight division after a spell at lightweight.
Perry (10–1), meanwhile, is coming off a KO win over Jake Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night 108 in April. He’s a dangerous fight for anyone in the 170lb division, and the UFC may be hard pressed to find a short notice replacement to throw down with him. Overall, Perry is 3-1 in the UFC, and suffered his only loss in the promotion at Alan Jouban at UFC on Fox 22.
Also known as UFC Pittsburgh, UFC Fight Night 116 features a main event of former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold taking on ex-WSOF two-division champion David Branch. The card unfolds at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and airs on Fox Sports 1 in the U.S.
