Ben Rothwell injured, changes made to UFC on Fox 4 event

The UFC injury bug has struck, yet again.

The UFC on FOX 4 bout between Heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne has been shelved due to an injury to Rothwell’s ankle just a week and a half out from the nationally televised event August 4, 2012. It had been heavily rumored that former Strikeforce and IFL Heavyweight Devin Cole may be stepping up to take Rothwell’s place next Saturday. However, the UFC has since scrapped the bout altogether:

Travis Browne vs Ben Rothwell is out for UFC on FOX 4 . @DaMarques_UFCvs @officialswick will move to the main card.

— UFCONFOX(@UFCONFOX) July 25, 2012

With the injury to Rothwell, this is the third bout from the original UFC on FOX 4 event which has had to be either dropped or adjusted. The first wasBrian Stann‘s injury which cancelled his fight with Hector Lombard and moved Lombard to UFC 149 this past Saturday. Then, Terry Etim was injured and Jamie Varner took his slot against Joe Lauzon.

Rothwell was coming off a knockout victory of The Ultimate Fighter season 10 runner-up Brendan Schaub. The fighter tweeted the following this afternoon:

To all the fans, I’m so sorry for this turn of events. Please believe I’ll return even better yet, because of your support. @UFCONFOX @ufc

— Uncle Ben(@RothwellFighter) July 26, 2012

UFC on FOX 4 takes place August 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The main card will be televised on FOX with a main event Light Heavyweight bout between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera.