After UFC 108 took another devastating blow over the weekend, the UFC will now be forced to promote the light heavyweight bout between Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva to the night’s main event. It’s not the best headliner that the Octagon has hosted for an “end of the year” show, but title contention slots are at stake.

“The bout between Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva is a fight we always talked about as a main event, and now these guys have the chance to headline UFC 108 and kick off the new year in impressive fashion,” UFC president Dana White said about the change.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was originally scheduled to take on Cain Velasquez in the main event, but after getting another staph infection, Big Nog was forced to pull out of the bout.

The main event swap is actually the card’s second significant move. The original main event was supposed to be Brock Lesnar’s title defense against Shane Carwin, but with Lesnar’s mystery illness, nobody knows when or if that bout will ever take place.

Evans vs. Silva is being promoted as a light heavyweight contender bout, but there hasn’t been a guarantee of a title shot as of yet for the winner. Evans turned down a potential fight with Randy Couture, opting to fight the younger Silva and legitimize himself against a fellow title contender.

Couture instead took on Brandon Vera this past weekend at UFC 105 where he made a successful return to the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Here are the fighters rumored to be participating inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on January 2nd:

Preliminary Bouts:

Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle
Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon
Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Sean Sherk
Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen
Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham

Main Bouts:

Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller
Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley
Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabe Gonzaga
Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans

In late October Brock Lesnar withdrew from his title fight against Shane Carwin due to an illness. Later it became public that Lesnar was afflicted with mononucleosis but a new report indicates that things may be worse than a simple case of mono.

Dana White informed MMA Junkie of Lesnar’s health issues,

“[Lesnar] is in bad shape, and the reality is they don’t really know all that’s wrong with him,” White said. “He owns a bunch of property in Canada. He went up to Canada just to get away from his house, to go up there and just kind of chill out up there.

“He [expletive] dropped. He went down, and he had to go to the hospital. They ran every test on the planet on him, and they ended up finding out something else was wrong with him.”

It is beginning to look like the UFC heavyweight champion will be out of commission for an extended period. So what will the UFC do to fill their pay-per view schedule?

An interim title makes sense but who will fight for it? Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is out with a staph infection, Shane Carwin just underwent knee surgery and Frank Mir is fighting Cheick Kongo at UFC 107. That leaves Cain Velasquez as the last man standing. Could we see an interim title fight between Cain and the winner of Mir vs. Kongo?

Talk about gag worthy.

Yet another marquee UFC fight has been canceled.

Can you say curse?

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his fight with Cain Velasquez due to a staph infection. Dana White informed the media at the UFC 105 post-fight press conference,

“[Nogueira] got staph infection, bad, to the point now it’s in his blood stream, and he’s probably going to have to be hospitalized and intravenuosly given the antibiotics,” White said.

Nogueira was slated to fight Cain Velasquez in a heavyweight number one contender fight for UFC 108.

Shane Carwin is a no go as a replacement fighter. White also told the media that Carwin recently underwent knee surgery (where the hell did that come from?) and will not be available.

In closing, the curse is real!

The UFC awarded four fighters some additional cheddar for their special performances inside the Octagon on Saturday night. Michael Bisping, Denis Kang, Dennis Siver and Terry Etim each earned $40,000 in fight night bonuses at UFC 105.

Fight of the Night:

Michael Bisping and Denis Kang ($40,000/each)

Knockout of the Night:

Dennis Siver ($40,000)

Submission of the Night:

Terry Etim ($40,000)

Randy Couture and Dan Hardy each moved one step closer to title shots in their respective divisions on Saturday with unanimous decision wins at UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

Couture, fighting at light heavyweight for the first time since 2006, edged Brandon Vera in the evening’s main event, battling through stinging body kicks to control the pace of the fight while landing occasional combination to earn the unanimous nod of a very controversial decision. A decision that has yet again left fans scratching their heads at the judges..

With the win, Couture improves to 17-10, rebounding from back-to-back losses to Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and potentially earning a shot at the winner of the upcoming rematch between 205-pound title-holder Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Vera falls to 11-4, snapping his two-fight win streak.

In the UFC 105 co-headliner, Hardy stunned Mike Swick early then rocked him again in the second and third frames to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Hardy ups his record to 23-6 with the win, including four-straight inside the UFC to earn a shot at welterweight title-holder Georges St-Pierre early next year. Swick drops to 14-3, snapping his four-fight win streak.

In other main card action, Michael Bisping rebounded with a second-round knockout of Denis Kang, Matt Brown scored a second-round knockout of James Wilks, and Ross Pearson earned a second-round TKO of Aaron Riley.

On the UFC 105 preliminary card, John Hathaway, Terry Etim, Nick Osipczak, Dennis Siver, Alexander Gustafsson, and Andre Winner earned victories.

The complete results for UFC 105 were:

* Randy Couture def. Brandon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Dan Hardy def. Mike Swick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
* Michael Bisping def. Denis Kang via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:24
* Matt Brown def. James Wilks via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 2:27
* Ross Pearson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) — Round 2, 4:38
* John Hathaway def. Paul Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
* Terry Etim def. Shannon Gugerty via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 2, 1:24
* Nick Osipczak def. Matthew Riddle via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 3:53
* Dennis Siver def. Paul Kelly via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:53
* Alexander Gustafsson def. Jared Hamman via knockout (punches) — Round 1, 0:41
* Andre Winner def. Rolando Delgado via knockout (punch) — Round 1, 3:22

Stefan Struve has been tapped to fight a returning Paul Buentello on the main card of UFC 107 on December 12 in place of injured up-and-comer Todd Duffee, who withdrew from the fight last week due to an undisclosed injury.

After dropping his UFC debut to Junior dos Santos in February, Struve (18-3) has rebounded with back-to-back wins inside the Octagon over Denis Stojnic and Chase Gormley.

Buentello (24-10) returns to the UFC after going 3-1 in Strikforce and most-recently earning wins in Affliction over Gary Goodridge and Kirill Sidelnikov.

UFC 107, which takes place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, is headlined by lightweight champ BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez and also features Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir and Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers” is officially jumping off shortly inside the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Fedor Emelianenko will finally return to action tonight to take on the undefeated Brett Rogers in the night’s main event.

The evening’s co-main event features an open middleweight title bout between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and former EliteXC welterweight champ Jake Shields.

Preliminary Bouts:

Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-25)
Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via submission (strikes) – Round 2, 3:24.
Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27).
Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via submission (injury) – Round 1, 1:39.
Marlos Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:03.
Mark Miller (171) vs. Deray Davis (170.5)

Main Bouts:

Gegard Mousasi def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:43.

Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Jake Shields def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) to become Strikeforce’s new middleweight champion

Fedor Emelianenko def. Brett Rogers via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:48.

Video game maker THQ has announced that it expects to sell 4 million copies of the hit MMA video game, “UFC Undisputed 2009.” The game is expected to play a prominent role regarding whether or not THQ will be profitable for this fiscal year.

THQ will be making a UFC video game annually, similar to their WWE game franchise. Although the question remains, can each UFC video game be as successful as the last?

Many experts point out that THQ could struggle with future releases because MMA is real, which could limit what the game maker can do to entice people to continue to buy upgrades to the game.

By improving gameplay and enhancing features on future releases, THQ could ensure the game’s profitability and long-term success.

Another avenue for profitability will be expanding their console market. THQ is expected to create a UFC game for the hand-held market, such as the PSPGo or Nintendo DS as well as adding something to the Nintendo Wii line.

Although most won’t admit it, there’s a chance that Fedor Emelianenko’s 26-fight winning streak might come to an end tomorrow inside the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. One person that isn’t gun-shy about speaking his mind is UFC president Dana White, who recently stated it could be a short night for the Russian if he’s not careful.

“You know what scares me about the Brett Rogers fight? Brett Rogers might knock him out,” White recently said during an interview with Fanhouse. “[Fedor] isn’t getting any younger, he hasn’t really been that active, he’s not the most physically fit guy you’ll ever see, and this guy Brett Rogers could end up clipping him, and then what does that mean?”

The only reason White is so concerned with his rival’s highly anticipated “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers ” show is because they’re hosting a fight that most MMA fans would prefer not to see. White maintains that his organization houses the world’s top heavyweight champion in Brock Lesnar, and that is where Team Fedor needs to head if they intend to legitimize their fighter’s legacy in the eyes of the mixed martial arts world.

“I just think it’s terrible. I think that Fedor should be fighting Brock [Lesnar], that’s what I think,” White added. “That’s the fight that should be happening. If the media and fans and anybody, anybody has the perception that this guy’s the best fighter in the world, he should be fighting the other best fighter in the world.”

White also mentioned that it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if Emelianenko were to keep his nearly nine-year winning streak alive. In fact, it would be much better for the UFC down the road, assuming he eventually agrees to fight inside an Octagon, if Fedor can maintain his aura of invincibility.

“The reality is, I hope that Buck (Brett) Rogers doesn’t knock him out,” White stated. “Because I want to get Fedor in the UFC. I want to see him fight Brock Lesnar.”

Wouldn’t we all, Dana …

Main Card

Fedor Emelianenko (232 lbs.) vs. Brett Rogers (264 lbs.)
Jason “Mayhem” Miller (184 lbs.) vs. Jake Shields (184.5 lbs.)
Gegard Mousasi (205 lbs.) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204 lbs.)
Antonio Silva (263 lbs.) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242 lbs.)

Preliminary Card

Christian Uflacker (156) vs. Jonatas Novaes (155.5)
Louis Taylor (185.5) vs. Nate Moore (184)
Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci (171)
Mark Miller (171) vs. Deray Davis (170.5)
Roxanne Modafferi (140) vs. Marloes Coenen (145)
Jeff Curran (145) vs. Dustin Neace (150.5)*

Stay tuned to fightburger for all the latest results on the strikeforce card.