Fabio Maldonado
Light heavyweights off Saturday’s card in Rio
Caio Magalhaes got a spot on the UFC 142 card thanks to an injury. Now another injury has taken him off of it.
Magalhaes last month signed to make his UFC debut at Saturday’s card in Rio de Janeiro, filling in for Stanislov Nedkov, who was taken off the card with an injury. But now his opponent, Fabio Maldonado (18-4, 1-1 UFC), has suffered an injury. And rather than look for a replacement for Magalhaes on a week’s notice, the fight will be scrapped altogether, UFC officials announced.
Maldonado, a student of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Brazil, was to return for the first time since a Fight of the Night loss to Kyle Kingsbury at the TUF 13 Finale last June. Maldonado was booked for a fight against Aaron Rosa on October’s UFC on Versus 6 card, but had to pull out with an injury. His loss to Kingsbury was his first since November 2007, snapping an 11-fight winning streak.
Magalhaes (5-0) won a split decision against Ismael de Jesus last month at a Shooto Brazil event, making him 2-0 in 2011. All five of the 24-year-old’s pro fights have been in his native Brazil, where he would have been making his promotional debut in front of a fellow Brazilian. Now he will have to wait for his first chance on the big UFC stage.
UFC 142 is the promotion’s second trip to Rio since August, when it returned to Brazil for the first time in nearly 13 years. Headlining the pay-per-view card is a featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and unbeaten Team Alpha Male product Chad Mendes. In the co-main event, Anthony Johnson makes his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort. Each of the 10 fights now on the card features a Brazilian fighter.
UFC 142 takes place at the HSBC Arena in Rio with a main card airing on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. Eastern. And for the first time in the UFC’s new seven-year deal with the Fox network, the five preliminary card fights on the card will air live on the FX cable channel at 8 p.m. Eastern.