Report: Ben Rothwell injured, withdraws from UFC 203 co-main event against Fabricio Werdum

After suffering a major setback in his most recent appearance — a unanimous decision loss to former Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 86 back in April — it appears that No. 5-ranked contender Ben Rothwell has once again been snake bit.

Rothwell has suffered a knee injury in training and will be unable to fight Fabricio Werdum at UFC 203, which is set for Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 10, 2016, according to MMAWeekly.com. That’s terrible news for "Big," who looked to slingshot back into the title chase sooner than later after "Cigano" snapped his four-fight win streak and crushed his immediate aspirations to compete for a championship.

No replacement has been selected at this time to fight Werdum, but UFC officials are reportedly working on a suitable opponent to battle "Vai Cavalo" on the "North Coast."

UFC 203 features the first-ever title defense for local fan-favorite, Stipe Miocic, against Alistair Overeem in the Heavyweight pay-per-view (PPV) main event of the evening. Former WWE star C.M. Punk is also slated to make his long-awaited mixed martial arts (MMA) debut on the PPV main card opposite Mickey Gall.

To check out the latest UFC 203: "Miocic vs. Overeem" fight card and rumors click here.