Derek Brunson vs. Ronny Markes pulled from UFC on FUEL TV 10 lineup

FORTALEZA, Brazil – A last-minute issue has forced the cancellation of a planned UFC on FUEL TV 10 matchup between Derek Brunson (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Ronny Markes (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with sources close to the fighter that Markes was today ruled out of the matchup. Additional sources said the the 25-year-old Brazilian was on Friday morning involved in an automobile accident. While Markes is said to not have been seriously injured, the incident will prevent the fighter from competing.

According to Tatame.com’s Guilherme Cruz, Markes was a passenger in the vehicle and hurt his “neck, head and ribs” when a car driven by manager and trainer Andre Pederneiras was involved in the crash. Pederneiras also injured his knee in the incident.

UFC officials have yet to make an official announcement. However, UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com that both fighters will be paid their guaranteed purse or “show” money.

UFC on FUEL TV 10 takes place Saturday at Paulo Sarasate Arena in Fortaleza, Brazil. Brunson and Markes were expected to meet on the evening’s Facebook-streamed preliminary card, which precedes the night’s FUEL TV-broadcast main-card bouts.

Brunson recently made his UFC debut and ended a two-fight skid with a unanimous-decision victory over Chris Leben at UFC 155. The former Strikeforce fighter and three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler opened his career with a 9-0 mark before losses to Kendall Grove and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Markes, who had looked to fights in his home country for the first time in more than two years, had hoped to extend his current win streak to seven fights, which has included UFC wins over Karlos Vemola, Aaron Simpson and Andrew Craig. All of the Nova Uniao fighter’s UFC wins have come via decision, though nine of his 11 other victories have come via stoppage.

With the late change to the card, UFC on FUEL TV 10 now includes:

MAIN CARD (FUEL TV, 8 p.m. ET)

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum
• William Macario vs. Leonardo Santos “TUF: Brazil 2? tournament final
• Rafael Cavalcante vs. Thiago Silva
• Eddie Mendez vs. Daniel Sarafian
• Jason High vs. Erick Silva
• Rony Jason vs. Mike Wilkinson

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 5:15 p.m. ET)

• Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
• Felipe Arantes vs. Godofredo Castro
• Ildemar Alcantara vs. Leandro “Buscape” Silva
• Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
• Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
• Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith

For the latest on UFC on FUEL TV 10, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Ronny Markes)