48 hours before Thiago Alves was scheduled to fight Jon Fitch in a number one contenders match, Alves had to be pulled from the fight because of abnormal brain activity. Alves underwent a pre-fight CAT scan and doctors discovered a potentially dangerous issue with the fighters brain. The doctors have not released what the problem was and would not be able to fully clear Alves before it was time to fight.
The UFC has already shuffled the fight card around and Ben Saunders has stepped up to fight Jon Fitch in place of Alves. Saunders will be in shape for the fight, as he was originally going to fight Jake Ellenberger on the preliminary card of UFC 111. Hopefully Alves will be given a clean bill of health and be able to compete in the octagon in the near future.
