Star-divide.The hits just keep on comin.'

Brazilian heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira has been pulled from the main event of UFC 108 where he was to square off against the undefeated Cain Velasquez to determine the next number one contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

The cause: staph.

"Nogueira got staph infection, bad, to the point now it’s in his bloodstream, and he’s probably going to have to be hospitalized and intravenously given the antibiotics," UFC president Dana White revealed at the UFC 105 post-event press conference (via brasilcombate.com.br).

The news followed the latest hit to the UFC’s star roster, after heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was hospitalized with mononucleosis. Lesnar’s opponent, Shane Carwin, has also been pulled from the fight, following knee surgery.

"It’s crazy," White said, "In nine years of being in this business, we haven’t had this many injuries in one year."

With three of the top five heavyweights on the shelf for the foreseeable future, it’s too early to tell how White and the UFC will adjust. Sometimes bad things come in threes.

Unless White is somehow able to work his magic, the light heavyweight showdown between former 205-pound champion, Rashad Evans, and Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva, will be promoted to top billing.

Stay tuned.