It appears that the UFC may have to find a new main event for UFC Fight Night 79 later this month as reports emerged that Thiago Alves has pulled out injured from his fight with Ben Henderson.
According to MMAjunkie, sources have claimed that Alves has suffered a broken rib which has left him with no choice but to pull out of the fight. The 32 year-old has been plagued with injuries in recent years, though he did manage to fight twice in 2015, earning a win over Jordan Mein followed by a TKO loss to Carlos Condit.
That leaves Henderson without an opponent with just two weeks to go to find a late replacement opponent for the the event in Seoul, South Korea on November 28th which is set to air on the UFC’s Fight Pass subscription service.
Henderson is likely to have no problem accepting a new opponent on short notice though as the former lightweight champion has become known in recent times for his willingess to take a fight any place, any time as he proved earlier this year when he accepted a fight at 170lbs with Brandon Thatch less than a month after a hard fought decision loss to Donald Cerrone at 155lbs.
Henderson won that fight with Thatch and has since made the decision to move up to welterweight permanently.
It should be stressed that so far the UFC have not confirmed the news that Alves is out, but if it is true and they can’t find a suitable replacement for him then the co-main event between Jorge Masvidal and Dong Hyum Kim could end up serving as the new headliner.
