Welterweight prospect Rory “Ares” MacDonald has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming UFC 140 event due to injury. MacDonald’s opponent, Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole, will now face Claude “The Prince” Patrick on the December 10th card, which takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

UFC officials announced the change today, but did not elaborate further on MacDonald’s injury and a timetable for his return is unknown. Ebersole has won back-to-back fights inside the Octagon since making his long-awaited UFC debut in February. Ontario’s Patrick has not lost in over nine years.

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A pair of lightweight bouts have been added to the upcoming UFC 142 card on January 14, 2012 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout faces Thiago Tavares, while Terry Etim clashes with Edson Barboza. Both bouts were officially announced earlier today.

Stout and Tavares are both coming off of knockout wins in their most recent bouts at UFC 131 and 134, respectively. Etim returned from a lengthy injury hiatus and destroyed Edward “Falo” Faaloloto at UFC 138, while Barboza remains unbeaten at 9-0 and has won all three of his bouts in the Octagon.

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ProElite came to the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois tonight for ProElite 2: “Big Guns.” The event was headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia and Andreas “Big Daddy” Kraniotakes, and also featured the opening round of the inaugural ProElite heavyweight grand prix.

In the co-feature, Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski looked for his second straight win when he took on 300-fight veteran Travis “The Ironman” Fulton, while Reagan Penn faced Evan Cutts in a clash of unbeaten prospects at 170 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s ProElite card.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the LG Arena in Birmingham, England today for UFC 138: “Leben vs Munoz.” The card was headlined by a middleweight bout between contenders Chris “The Crippler” Leben and Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz, contested over five rounds.

In the bantamweight co-feature, Brad “One Punch” Pickett looked to take one step closer to a UFC title shot when he faced Renan “Barao” Pegado, and former welterweight title challenger Thiago “Pitbull” Alves battled Papy “Makambo” Abedi. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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An on-again, off-again ProFC bout between Kaitlin Young and Milana Dudieva has been rebooked for December 10th in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Young has verbally agreed to the revised date, but has not yet signed on. The fight was originally scheduled for ProFC 37 on November 9th.

Young withdrew from the ProFC 37 card on Sunday after she was unable to secure a visa to travel and compete, and cited promotional disorganisation as a main factor. ProFC and Young’s management reached an agreement and the Minnesotan is expected to face Russia’s Dudieva next month.

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Former UFC middleweight title challenger Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort will welcome Anthony “Rumble” Johnson to the 185-pound ranks when the two face off at UFC 142 on January 14, 2012. The bout was announced today and is expected to take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Belfort had originally planned to face former Strikeforce fan favourite Cung Le at UFC 139, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. He has won six of his last seven, with the lone defeat coming against champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Johnson has won five of his last six fights.

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UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar retained his title and avenged his sole defeat by stopping Gray “The Bully” Maynard at UFC 136. Edgar retains his spot atop the lightweight ranks for November, but has no shortage of potential challengers for his coveted UFC championship.

Former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz takes a step up the 170-pound ranks after his dominant decision victory over “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn at UFC 137. In women’s action, four of the five divisions undergo significant rankings shakeups this month as new prospects emerge.

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UFC Featherweight Champion José “Scarface” Aldo will make the next defence of his title against Chad “Money” Mendes at UFC 142 on January 14, 2012 in Brazil. The bout, which was first reported by FoxSports.com tonight, is expected to take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Aldo has picked up five-round Unanimous Decision victories in each of his two Octagon appearances since debuting in the UFC in April. Earlier this month, he defeated Kenny “KenFlo” Florian at UFC 136. Mendes remains unbeaten in his pro career and has also won twice in the UFC this year.

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