Welterweights Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson have agreed to square off in the co-main event of UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas, according to Sherdog.

Koscheck revealed on Twitter Tuesday that he’d be co-headlining the pay-per-view event, and while initial speculation focused on Matt Hughes, the knockout artist Johnson was ultimately tapped for the short-notice addition to the event.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled title defense against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas due to an illness that has prevented him from training for nearly a month, UFC President Dana White confirmed to Yahoo! Sports on Monday.

According to a post by Carwin on Twitter, the fight has been rescheduled for UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas, leaving Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin to headline UFC 106.

UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have agreed to an immediate rematch following Machida’s controversial decision win over Rua on Saturday in the main event of UFC 104.

“I thought “Shogun” won the fight. I think there will be a rematch.” said UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference. “I talked to both of them and they both agreed to a rematch.”

The “Machida Era” was extended in controversial fashion on Saturday, as light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida was awarded a questionable unanimous decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Cain Velasquez dominated Ben Rothwell in the UFC 104 co-headliner, while Gleison Tibau, Joe Stevenson, and Anthony Johnson also earned main card wins.

Welcome to MMAFrenzy.com’s live coverage of UFC 104, which takes place today at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The pay-per-view event is headlined by light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in his first title defense against challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, as well as a co-main event between heavyweight contenders Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell.

MMAFrenzy.com’s live UFC 104 coverage begins at 7:30pm ET with preliminary card results, followed by live coverage of the Spike TV card at 9pm and the PPV main card beginning at 10pm.

After an injury forced Ricardo Almeida to withdraw from their scheduled UFC 106 fight, Jon Fitch is now expected to rematch Thiago Alves at UFC 107 on December 19 in Memphis, Tennessee, according to MMAjunkie, which reports that the welterweight matchup is in the works, while Alves’ original UFC 107 opponent, Paulo Thiago, will be booked for another bout.

In their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 5 in mid-2006, Fitch earned a second-round technical knockout of Alves.

Ricardo Almeida has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 106 welterweight matchup with Jon Fitch after “blowing out his knee” and the bout has been scratched from the November 21 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.

Fitch announced the news on Twitter earlier today, adding that he’d be getting “a bigger better fight” on a future card instead, but was unable to disclose his new opponent.

Lightweights Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff have agreed to square off at WEC 45 on December 19 in Las Vegas, according to Sherdog, in what is expected to be the co-main event of the Versus-televised card. The matchup is the first rumored for WEC 45, which is expected to take place at The Joint at The Hard Rock.

Lightweight contender Gray Maynard and The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz will meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 20 on January 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, Diaz’s camp announced on Tuesday. The matchup is a rematch from The Ultimate Fighter 5 semifinals, when Diaz submitted Maynard with a guillotine choke in the second-round of the bout.

Bellator Fighting Championships today announced a broadcast deal for its second and third seasons that will see the promotion’s events air live on Fox Sports Net, followed by highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo.

“Since our launch earlier this year, there has been an overwhelming demand from MMA fans nationwide for us to broadcast our events live and through a widely available platform,” Bellator CEO/Founder Bjorn Rebney said. “We are thrilled to have signed this groundbreaking agreement with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, which will bring our unique and exciting brand of tournament-based MMA events to a dramatically expanded audience of both English- and Spanish-speaking fans.”

Middleweight contender Dan Henderson responded Friday to a Yahoo! Sports report that he was close to finalizing a deal with Strikeforce, telling MMA Weekly that he hopes to return to the UFC but that he’s exploring all his options.

“I’m still hoping to come to terms with the UFC, until I heard this. And I will be exploring other options for sure, but I definitely need to make sure I get paid.”

The UFC will likely make its Virginia debut in January with UFC Fight Night 20, a Spike TV-televised event that is expected to be held on Monday, January 11 at the the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virgnia near Washington, D.C. Newcomers Mike “Joker” Guymon and Rory MacDonald are likely to square off on the card.

During a Tuesday UFC press conference in Japan, middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama announced that he’d be fighting Wanderlei Silva early next year, likely in February at UFC 110 in Las Vegas or UFC 111 in Sydney, Australia. The matchup, originally rumored for UFC 108 in January, would be featured on the UFC 110 card or could potentially headline the UFC’s Australian debut.

A unification matchup between WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, sidelined with injuries since his January title defense over Donald Cerrone, and interim title-holder Ben Henderson is expected to take place in early-2010 in Arizona, both fighter’s home state.

Ben Henderson was crowned the WEC’s interim lightweight champion on Saturday after earning a unanimous decision victory over Donald Cerrone in an instant classic that headlined WEC 43 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Dave Jansen, Raphael Assuncao, and Damacio Page also picked up main card wins, while Anthony Njokuani, Scott Jorgensen, Mackens Semerzier, Eddie Wineland, Charlie Valencia, and Deividas Taurosevicius were victorious on the WEC 43 prelims.