UFC 108: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Withdraws From Main Event With Staph Infection

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked heavyweight “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1) has withdrawn from his matchup versus Cain Velasquez (6-0) previously slated for UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2 with a staph infection, according to Sherdog.

Fighters.com has not confirmed the report; but, if true, the first UFC event 2010 will require a possibly unprecedented fourth main event.  Originally, a title fight between Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) and tenth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) was scheduled to headline UFC 108, but Silva was forced to postpone the fight after elbow surgery.  A title fight between second-ranked, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) and sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (9-0) was postponed to UFC 108 after Lesnar came down with mononucleosis, but the fight was postponed indefinitely as Lesnar’s illness has become more serious.  The matchup between big Nog’ and Velasquez was the UFC’s third try to fill the top of the bill for what is often one of the year’s biggest events.