The good news for the UFC veteran though is that it’s not a long-term injury and he should be back in action before long.

Meanwhile, In his place the UFC have draughted in Dan Miller (11-4 1nc) to fight Salter at the event.  Miller has been on a three fight losing streak recently against tough opposition in Chael Sonnen, Demain Maia and Michael Bisping.

Some believed Miller would be cut after his last fight, but the UFC have given him another chance to redeem himself, and this is certainly a winnable fight against Salter who is just 1-1 in the UFC so far.

No prizes for guessing the next opponent for Rashad Evans.  We have known for some time that a showdown with his fellow TUF 10 coach and arch-rival Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson was on the cards if he could get past Thiago Silva, and indeed he did just that.

The fight is now expected to take place on May 1st at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada.  The card is already set to feature the light heavyweight title rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, which would lend credence to the idea that that by the end of the event we would not only know who the undisputed LHW champion is, but also who will be the next contender.

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Paul Daley’s future after his KO win over Dustin Hazelett is also fairly well mapped out.  According to Dana White either Josh Koscheck or Jon Fitch could well be his next opponent.  Daley has also mentioned Thiago Alves as another fighter he would be eager to square off against next.

Of the three names in the hat Koscheck is the one Daley is most likely to face next since Alves and Fitch are currently being lined up for a rematch at UFC 111 in March.  On his twitter account Koscheck has confirmed his interest in the bout, stating, “PD fight would be great.  I would love that fight next.”

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The future is less clear for Sam Stout who impressed in his ‘Fight Of The Night’ performance against Joe Lauzon.  His fight at UFC 108 was originally scheduled to take place on the undercard, but injuries saw it promoted to the televised portion of the card, and he took full advantage of the situation.

With an octagon record of 4-4 it would perhaps be unwise to throw Stout in against the divisions top talents, but there’s plenty of options for Stout now as he looks to firmly establish himself in the upper half of the lightweight division.  Cole Miller, who also claimed a victory at UFC 108, would be a solid opponent.  TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson could also be a fun fight, and in reserve there is always a rubber match with Spencer Fisher to consider.

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Another solid lightweight prospect Jim Miller shone in the main card spotlight at last weekend’s event.  While it would seem logical to pair up Miller with Stout next, I believe that Miller is further up the pecking order with just one loss (to top contender Gray Maynard) in six UFC fights.

Miller was originally scheduled to face Tyson Griffin at UFC 108, and when he was forced to pull out Sean Sherk briefly stepped in before falling victim to the injury curse himself .  Either of those opponents would be a fitting opponent for Miller next.  Clay Guida is another option that sounds appealing at this stage.

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Junior Dos Santos proved beyond doubt that he is the real deal with his first round TKO of dangerous striker Gilbert Yvel, taking his UFC record to 4-0.  Under normal circumstances the Brazilian would surely now be facing a top contender next, but unluckily for him they are all otherwise engaged with Nogueira Vs Velasquez and Mir Vs Carwin already scheduled to fight in the coming months.

Emerging relatively unscathed from his encounter at the weekend it’s unlikely that Dos Santos will be kept on the sidelines for long.  He was originally slated to fight Gabe Gonzaga at UFC 108 and that’s a fight that still makes sense.  Otherwise Paul Buentello or Cheick Kongo could suffice as stopgap opponents.  Recent TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson could also be considered as a wildcard choice.

As was first reported in the NW Indiana Times, the latest to fall victim to the longest casualty list for a single event in UFC history is Sean Sherk, who himself had stepped up from the undercard to face Jim Miller after Tyson Griffin got injured.

Sherk is reported to have had a cut above his right eye which required stitches and will keep him out of the main card bout.  It is the second fight in a row that Sherk has had to pull out of due to injury, the last being against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104.

In his place the UFC have had to look beyond their own roster and wil welcome back muay thai striker Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig back into the fold.

Ludwig has fought for the promotion twice before, emerging victorious on both occasions, and infamously scored the unofficial fastest knockout ever (5 seconds)  against Jonathan Goulet. Due to a time keeping error the KO was officially recorded as 11 seconds.

Ludwig is 2-2 in his last four fights, most recently losing to Lyle Beerbohm in June of this year.  He has been eager to return to the UFC, and unexpectedly he now gets his opportunity.

While he is an exciting stand-up fighter, his ground game is a weakness, and so he may be in for a long night against Jim Miller who will be more than happy to put him on his back.

Griffin had been lined up to fight Jim Miller in the main card of the event which takes on January 2nd, but his manager told mmajunkie that will no longer be possible.  He did however state  that he doesn’t expect the fighter to be out of action for too long.

The news comes just two days after Carlos Condit pulled out of the co-main event of the card against Paul Daley due to injury.  Dustin Hazelett has since stepped in as his replacement.

Update: It is now being reported that Sean Sherk (33-4-1) will step up from his prelim bout with Rafael Oliviero to face Jim Miller. Being able to call on the former champion to fill the hole once again highlights the UFC’s strength in depth, even during this difficult period.

Tyson Griffin (14-2) is expected to be back in action in the lightweight division after claiming his first K.O in the octagon against Hermes Franca at the recent UFC 103 event.  His rumored opponent is Jim Miller (15-2) who also claimed a victory at UFC 103 over Steve Lopez.

Meanwhile Paul Daley (22-8-2), another fighter who impressed last month at UFC 103 by taking an unexpected TKO  victory over welterweight contender, Martin Kampmann, will face another tough test against Carlos Condit (24-5), who recently won a memorable three round war with Jake Ellenberger at UFN 19.

The card was originally expected to be headlined by Anderson Siva’s latest title defense against Vitor Belfort, though recent news from Silva’s camp has raised questions over whether this may fall through.  Another major fight rumored for the event is a light heavyweight contest between Rashad Evans Vs Thiago Silva.