When Thiago Silva was forced off the UFC 149 card late last week, many people felt that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua should face off with rising Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson. Well according to a post on Shogun's official Facebook page, there's a very good reason why Gustafsson isn't taking the fight - he's injured, and won't be back until the fall:

The name Rashad Evans has been talked about but he is injured. Same goes for Minotouro. Gustafsson was another option but it seems like he has a broken hand and will only be back in October. For us the only options left at the time are Phil Davis, who is fighting Wagner Caldeirão in August, and Ryan Bader, who is fighting Lyoto in the same event. But I still believe these fights can be rearranged. UFC 149 is pay-per-view and the one on Aug. 4th is open TV in the US.

The UFC has been pushing the idea of Shogun fighting Glover Teixeira, but it seems that Shogun's camp isn't interested in that fight. Either way, it looks like we won't be seeing The Mauler back in the cage until late in the year.

SBN coverage of UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch