A promising fight between two promising middleweights is up in smoke after Ronny Markes was involved in a vehicle collision Friday morning in his native Brazil.
According to MMA Fighting, Markes, who was scheduled to face Derek Brunson Saturday on the undercard of UFC on Fuel 10, suffered a concussion and injured his neck and back in the collision.
The injury continues a run of recent bad luck for the UFC and its fight cards.
UFC 161 has taken a lion’s share of the brunt, with an injury to interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao putting a main-event title fight on ice. An injury for light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira scuttled his scheduled bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
However, UFC on Fuel TV 10 has also taken its lumps. Fast-rising welterweight John Hathaway was forced to pull out of his bout with fellow fast riser Erick Silva, and was replaced by Jason High.
The co-main event, which doubles as the finale of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, will feature a semifinalist from the show, Leandro Santos, after original finalist Santiago Ponzinibbio broke his hand.
The 25-year-old Markes (14-1) is on a seven-fight winning streak, including a spotless 3-0 mark in the UFC. The Rio-based fighter would have been fighting for the second time in his native country, with the first coming earlier this year at UFC on FX 7 in Sao Paulo.
Brunson (10-2) was set to fight for the second time in the UFC after a relatively short run in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion. The 29-year-old Division II All-American wrestler defeated Chris Leben by decision in his UFC debut at UFC 155 in December.
The UFC on Fuel TV 10 main event pits TUF: Brazil 2 head coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum against each other. The heavyweight bout could identify a new title contender between the 37-year-old Nogueira and the 35-year-old Werdum.
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