Surgery forces translator change to UFC Fight Night 29 card in Brazil

BARUERI, Brazil – It’s been a bad week for Ben Rothwell.

First, the UFC suspended the heavyweight veteran for a failed drug screening. Now Rothwell’s Brazilian doppelganger has also been forced to the sidelines.

MMAjunkie.com today learned from sources close to the UFC that Brazilian stalwart Richard Laver recently underwent surgery and will not be serving as translator at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 29 event.

Black House MMA representative Derek Lee will fill in for the event, appearing inside the octagon during Wednesday’s fight card to provide English-Portuguese translation for UFC broadcaster Jon Anik and the night’s 20 scheduled fighters.

Laver, a longtime professional translator who also is expected to work at next year’s FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil, first appeared inside the octagon in June 2012 at “UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II” in Belo Horizonte. He’s since been a fixture at seven consecutive Brazilian UFC events, translating not only during the night’s televised fights but also at pre- and post-event news conferences.

He’s expected to return to his duties at next month’s “UFC Fight Night 32: Belfort vs. Henderson” event, which takes place Nov. 9 at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Goias, Brazil.

Featuring a welterweight headliner between submission specialists Demian Maia and Jake Shields, UFC Fight Night 29 takes place Wednesday at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The night’s 10-bout lineup airs on FOX Sports 1.

For more on UFC Fight Night 29, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Richard Laver and Glover Teixeira)