Replacing Rousimar Palhares after an injury knocked him off the UFC 101 fight card battling Alessio Sakara will be Thales Leites, challenger for the middleweight title.

Before his April loss by unanimous decision to middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva, Leites had only lost one other UFC bout (to Martin Kampmann in Leites 2006 UFC debut) won 5 consecutive UFC fights, defeating:

• Drew McFedries
• Nate Marquardt
• Ryan Jensen
• Floyd Sword
• Pete Sell

His upcoming opponent in Philadelpha, PA on August 8, Sakara's record is less one-sided, with 4 wins and 4 losses with 1 no contest.

Rousimar Palhares had to bow out of UFC 101 after getting a fractured tibia (aka a broken leg) during training. Murilo Bustamante, Palhares' trainer, said he expects Rousimar to be back in the Octagon by the end of the year.

And since we mentioned Anderson Silva, we should take this opportunity to point out that he will be present at UFC 101 too, battling Forrest Griffin, though Silva's title is safe in this non-championship bout.

The headlining bout on the UFC 101 fight card, meanwhile, will be Kenny Florian attempting to capture B.J. Penn's lightweight championship title.

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