UFC 142 Fight Card: Paulo Thiago Reportedly Out Due To Elbow Injury

UFC welterweight veteran Paulo Thiago has withdrawn from a planned UFC 142 bout against Mike Pyle due to an undisclosed elbow injury, according to reports from Brazilian outlet Tatame Magazine.

UFC officials have yet to schedule a replacement opponent or confirm the report. Thiago and Pyle were tapped as two of the headlining attractions for the FX-broadcast UFC 142 undercard.

The injury is one that is all to familiar for Thiago (14-3). After fighting three or more times in each of the past three years, the 30-year-old has competed just once in 2011, hitting the sidelines with a similar elbow injury prior to a UFC on Versus 3 bout with Johny Hendricks.

Altogether Thiago has dropped two of his last three contests with unanimous decision losses against Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez, the latter of which won "Fight of the Night". He last competed at UFC 134, defeating David Mitchell via unanimous decision.

UFC 142 takes place on January 14th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the HSBC Arena. Brazilian featherweight champion Jose Aldo duels American challenger Chad Mendes in the night's main event.

UFC 142 fight card:

Main card (Pay-per-view):
Featherweight Championship: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
Middleweight: Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Middleweight: Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
Welterweight: Erick Silva vs. TBA
Lightweight: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

Preliminary card (FX):
Lightweight: Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
Heavyweight: Ednaldo Oliveira vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Featherweight: Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
Featherweight: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Yuri Alcantara