Jason High replaces John Hathaway, faces Erick Silva at UFC on FUEL TV 10

UFC officials announced yesterday that welterweight John Hathaway (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has been forced to pull out of his scheduled UFC on FUEL TV 10 bout with Erick Silva (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

Hathaway took to Twitter to explain the situation and said he’s suffering from ulcerative colitis, a form of colitis, which attacks the colon.

Filling in for Hathaway will be Strikeforce veteran Jason High (16-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC). High, who was already slated to fight on the June 8th card against Ildemar Alcantara, announced his opponent change via Twitter.

Alcantara (18-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who recently defeated Wagner Prado in his UFC debut at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, will now fight UFC newcomer and undefeated submission specialist Leandro Silva (11-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Erick Silva, who was recently forced out of a scheduled UFC 156 bout with Jay Hieron, returns to the octagon for the first time since losing to Jon Fitch in a fight of the night performance at UFC 153. Prior to the Fitch bout, Silva had gone 2-1 under the UFC banner, scoring stoppage victories over Charlie Brenneman and Luis Ramos respectively.

High returns to the UFC for the first time since 2010, where he suffered a decision loss to Charlie Brenneman. Since the Brenneman bout, the California-based fighter has posted seven consecutive victories. High defeated fast rising prospect Jordan Mein at a regional show in Canada and then edged veteran Hayato Sakurai via split decision while under the Dream banner. High’s three most recent victories came while working under the Strikeforce banner, he defeated Nate Moore via submission in his most recent outing.

UFC on FUEL TV 10, which also serves as the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2,” takes place June 8 at the Ginasio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.