Visa issues forced light heavyweight fighter Stanislav Nedkov to withdraw from UFC 142 last week, leaving opponent Fabio Maldonado (18-4) without an opponent for the upcoming Brazilian event.
This past Sunday, Ultimate Fighting Championship officials found a replacement for Nedkov, naming promotion newcomer Caio ‘Hellboy’ Magalhaes (5-0) as Maldonado’s new opponent.
UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes is scheduled to take place on January 14th at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the promotions second visit to the South American country in six months.
Maldonado (pictured) had an eleven fight win streak stopped by Kyle Kingsbury last June by decision at the TUF 13 Finale. The bout did earn both men the “Fight of the Night” bonus. It now puts Maldonado at 1-1 in the UFC, having debuted in October 2010 against James McSweeney, earning a third round TKO win at UFC 120. The Brazilian had been scheduled to meet Aaron Rosa at UFC on Versus 6 in October but withdrew due to injury.
Magalhaes is undefeated in his short career, having competed exclusively in Brazil. His most recent fight took place this month on December 2nd at Shooto – Brazil 27, earning a split decision at the event. ‘Hellboy’ has one (T)KO win, two submission victories, and 2 wins by decision.