January's UFC 142 event today took a major hit as Siyar Bahadurzada (20-4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Rob Broughton (15-7-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Stanislav Nedkov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were all officially scratched from the event.
Additionally, Tatame is reporting that Paulo Thiago (14-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has also been forced to withdraw from the card, though UFC officials have yet to confirm the change.
Replacement opponents have yet to be determined. The UFC blamed injury for all three official withdrawals.
Featuring a featherweight title fight between current champion Jose Aldo and undefeated contender Chad Mendes, UFC 142 takes place Jan. 14 at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena.
Bahadurzada was expected to face Erick Silva (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who carries a nine-fight win streak. The Brazilian slugger made his octagon debut at UFC 134, which also took place in Rio de Janiero, where he scored a 40-second stoppage of Luis Ramos. Silva appeared to be in line for thew night's "Knockout of the Night" bonus before his teammate Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira stopped Brendan Schaub later that evening.
Broughton was going to meet Ednaldo Oliveira (13-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), whose first name sometimes is spelled "Edinaldo." Oliveira made his pro debut in 2005 and has been a fixture on Brazil's regional circuit. The heavy-handed Brazilian has picked up eight knockouts in 13 career wins. Most recently, the 6-foot-7 fighter scored a first-round knockout of Nalzinho Novaes. He's fought six times in 2011 with a 5-0 record (and one no-contest due to an eye poke).
The undefeated Nedkov was scheduled to fight Fabio Maldonado (18-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who made his UFC debut a little more than a year ago and scored a TKO victory over James McSweeney. However, his 11-fight win streak recently came to an end with a unanimous-decision defeat to Kyle Kingsbury in June at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.
Thiago was scheduled to meet Mike Pyle (21-8-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who returns to action after a disappointing setback to red-hot prospect Rory MacDonald at UFC 133, which snapped a three-fight win streak. Those previous triumphs included Jesse Lennox, John Hathaway and Ricardo Almeida.
The latest UFC 142 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes (for featherweight title)
Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Mike Massenzio vs. Rousimar Palhares
Erick Silva vs. TBA
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)
Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares
Mike Pyle vs. TBA*
Fabio Maldonado vs. TBA
Ednaldo Oliveira vs. TBA
Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio "Pato" Carvalho
Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Source: Bahadurzada, Broughton, Nedkov scratched from UFC 142; Thiago also reported out