The injury bug strike again — and twice.
UFC announced that Zak Cummings was forced to withdraw from TUF 18 Finale on Nov. 30, and Sean Spencer will take his place inside the Octagon against Brazilian welterweight Sergio Moraes.
Moraes (8-2) is coming off two back-to-back submission victories inside the Octagon, tapping Neil Magny and Renee Forte, after losing to Cezar Ferreira in TUF: Brazil season one finale.
Spencer (10-2) returned to the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Yuri Villefort at UFC Fight Night 28, eight months after a submission loss to Rafael Natal.
TUF 18 Finale features the flyweight championship bout between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez in the main event.
UFC’s next event in Brazil, on Nov. 9 in Goiania, will go on with 11 fights, as Johnny Eduardo and Lucas Martins, who were expected to meet in the bantamweight division, got injured during training. Fox Sports’ Mike Chiappetta first reported the news on Wednesday.
After a first-round loss to Edson Barboza in his UFC debut, Martins (14-1) dropped two weight classes and scored consecutive stoppage wins over Jeremy Larsen and Junior Hernandez, both in Brazil, earlier this year.
Eduardo (26-9), a long-time MMA veteran, hasn’t fought since May 2012. After a unanimous decision loss to Raphael Assuncao, the muay thai specialist defeated Jeff Curran at UFC on Fuel TV 3, but injuries forced him to cancel bouts against Michael McDonald and Yves Jabouin.
UFC Fight Night 32 is headlined by the light heavyweight showdown between Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson.