Tavares tears ACL, out of fight at UFC Brasilia

Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC’s card in Brasilia has taken a hit, as an injury has forced Brad Tavares out of his fight with Antonio Carlos Junior. A ruptured ACL has forced Brad Tavares out of his upcoming fight against Antonio Ca…

MMA: UFC 216-Leites vs Tavares

Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC’s card in Brasilia has taken a hit, as an injury has forced Brad Tavares out of his fight with Antonio Carlos Junior.

A ruptured ACL has forced Brad Tavares out of his upcoming fight against Antonio Carlos Junior at UFC Brasilia.

Combate first reported the news. With the UFC yet to make an official announcement, it is not yet understood whether Carlos Junior will remain on the card and the promotion will seek a replacement for Tavares, or if the Brazilian will be pulled from the event.

Tavares is yet to make any sort of announcement regarding the injury that has forced him out of the scheduled March 14th fight. Typically an ACL injury like the one Tavares has sustained can force a fighter out from anywhere between 6-12 months.

After suffering consecutive losses in his last two fights, Tavares (17-6) was hoping to get back in the win column at UFC Brasilia. Losing a one-sided unanimous decision to now champion Israel Adesanya in July of last year, Tavares also suffered a KO loss to Edmen Shahbayzan at UFC 244 in November. The Hawaiian is without a win since April 2018.

No main event has yet been announced for the UFC Brasilia card. A few fights have been confirmed, including Paige VanZant’s return against Amanda Ribas and a light heavyweight fight between Johnny Walker and Nikita Krylov.