The Weekly Wrap: March 20 - March 26

Alves Future Uncertain

It could prove a temporary medical hiccup or a career-threatening issue for one of the sport’s top welterweights.

Two days before he was scheduled to face Jon Fitch at UFC 111, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board pulled Thiago Alves from the fight over concerns about the MRI scan of his brain. Yahoo! Sports reported that Alves failed three medical tests administered in New Jersey, and there was a concern about a bleed in his brain in a CAT scan that was administered in his home state of Florida before he departed for the fight.

UFC President Dana White told Yahoo! the medical issue in question “doesn’t make any sense” because Alves is “too young.” White told TMZ.com -- which reported the issue as a brain artery irregularity -- the problem, if true, could be career ending.

Further, more extensive tests were required to determine the extent of the problem, but those would not be secured in time to allow Alves to fight at UFC 111. Ben Saunders asked for the Fitch fight and had his request granted, leaving his originally scheduled opponent, Jake Ellenberger, as the odd man out. Ellenberger was paid his show and win money. It was the second time the Fitch vs. Alves rematch has been postponed. Alves cited a knee injury in pulling out of the match when it was scheduled for UFC 107 in December.

It was the second straight pay-per-view in which the UFC lost a main card fight days before the event. Citing an illness, Ben Rothwell pulled out of his fight against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 110 on Feb. 20.