Injury forces Thiago Alves out of UFC 149

News broke today that Thiago Alves is out of his UFC 149 bout with Siyar Bahadurzada. Forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury, it is a disappointing setback for Alves. Looking to bounce back from a submission loss to the surging Martin Kampmann, Alves was set up to face Bahadurzada in an exciting war of two fast-paced strikers. The Brazilian kickboxer had dominated Kampmann on the feet before an ill-advised takedown spelled his doom. Alves was originally set to face Yoshihiro Akiyama on the card until an injury forced Bahadurzada to step in.

The development is a blow to the August card, which already saw Thiago Silva withdraw from his bout with Mauricio Shogun Rua with a back injury. It seems as if fighters are dropping off of the Calgary, Alberta, event at an alarming rate.

Bahadurzada now finds himself without an opponent. The talented striker made his debut with a bang at UFC on Fuel TV 2 by knocking out Paulo Thiago with a short, powerful punch in only 41 seconds. The Welterweight division is stacked right now, and any fighter looking to move up the ladder needs to obviously win as many fights as possible.

Hopefully UFC 149 will fill in the blanks with exciting matchups for the Canadian fans. Both Silva vs. Rua and Alves vs. Bahadurzada had the makings of exactly the fights that fans want to see, and will be tough to replace. Injuries are a part of the game, and have been wreaking havoc on many a UFC card as of late. Stay tuned to LowKick.com for the replacement news as it develops.

Further Reading: UFC 149 Pre Fight Press Conference: Jose Aldo and Erik Koch go face-to-face