Alan Belcher Injured, Unable To Compete At UFC 153 In Brazil

(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Injury woes continue to plague the career of Alan Belcher as the middleweight fighter has withdrawn from the UFC 153 fight card due to a spinal fracture.

Belcher was scheduled to face Vitor Belfort on the Oct. 13 fight card before “The Phenom” was pulled from the event in order to face Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 152 on Sept. 22.

When Belfort was moved off the card, Belcher was left opponentless. It appears finding a replacement to face “The Talent” will not be necessary as the 28-year-old announced on Twitter that he has suffered a fracture to his spine.

“Everyone’s asking if I am mad at @Ufc @jonnybones @vitorbelfort answer is no.” Belcher wrote. “This is a blessing in disguise. I have a spinal fracture.”

The cause and extent of Belcher’s injury is unknown at this time, but in a follow-up tweet he said he would be ready to return to action in November, hopefully against fellow 185-pound contender Chris Weidman.

“With that being said and with much respect I’d like @Chrisweidmanufc or another top 5 on my return in November. Thx for all the support”

Belcher has struggled with injury problems in recent years. He was on the sidelines for over a year in 2009-2010 with a detached retina. The American last competed at UFC on FOX 3 in May, defeating Rousimar Palhares via TKO.

The UFC has not announced if a new fight will be put together for UFC 153 to replace the empty slot on the card left by Belfort vs. Belcher no longer taking place.

UFC 153: Aldo vs. Koch goes down from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 13. The main event of the evening will see Jose Aldo make his third featherweight title defence against Erik Koch.

Along with the Aldo vs. Koch headliner, a light heavyweight contest between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira has been confirmed for the event.

To get the latest on UFC 153, click here. For up-to-date versions of all upcoming fight cards, head over to the rumors section.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.