Brad Tavares out of fight against Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC Brasilia

Veteran middleweight Brad Tavares will have to wait to make his return after suffering an injury that’s knocked him out of a scheduled bout against Antonio Carlos Jr. at UFC Fight Night in Brasilia, Brazil.

Sources close to the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Monday following an initial report from Combate in Brazil.

According to the initial report, Tavares likely suffered a ruptured ACL in his knee, which can result in a lengthy layoff; a torn ACL typically requires surgery and at least six months to one year of recovery time.

Tavares has yet to publicly acknowledge the injury or the severity of the damage done to his knee. But it was bad enough to force out of his fight more than two months away.

As of now, UFC officials have not made any announcement regarding Tavares’ withdrawal, though it’s likely the search for a replacement has started for the March 14 event.

The UFC’s upcoming return to Brasilia is still taking shape with a main event yet to be determined for the card. Several fights have been announced, however, including Paige VanZant’s return against Amanda Ribas and a matchup between light heavyweights Johnny Walker and Nikita Krylov.