Heavyweight contenders Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will likely meet in a featured matchup at UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas, according to Tatame, which cites a report from Nogueira’s manager Ed Soares.

Velasquez is coming off a second-round knockout of Ben Rothwell at last month’s UFC 104, while Nogueira earned an impressive decision over Randy Couture in August.

PRESS RELEASE — HDNet’s “Inside MMA” will provide LIVE, exclusive coverage of the weigh-ins for “STRIKEFORCE: Fedor vs. Rogers,” Friday, November 6at 6:00 pm ET. The special 90-minute edition of “Inside MMA” will provide a first look at the undisputed #1 heavyweight in the world — Fedor Emelianenko, as he hits the scale the night before his network television debut on CBS.

Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers, who takes on Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Saturday’s CBS-televised event, will make live appearances tomorrow on ESPN 2. Rogers will appear at 10am ET on “First Take” and will also be a guest on “Sports Nation” at 4pm ET.

Heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee (6-0), who earned a UFC-record 7-second knockout of Tim Hague in August in his UFC debut, has been forced with withdraw from his UFC 107 matchup with a returning Paul Buentello due to an undisclosed injury.

Duffee confirmed the withdrawal on Tuesday with Sherdog, which also spoke to Buentello, who says Stefan Struve and Mike Russow have been proposed as potential opponents for the main card fight.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who last week withdrew from his scheduled title defense against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 due to an extended illness, remains sick and unable to train, according to an update from Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole.

If Lesnar is unable to resume training soon, the Lesnar-Carwin matchup could be pushed back until February and UFC 108 could be left without a championship main event.

M-1 and Fedor Emelianenko have filed a lawsuit against Affliction Clothing, Affliction Entertainment, and other unnamed parties alleging breach of contract stemming from the cancellation of “Affliction: Trilogy” and folding of the MMA promotion earlier this year as part of a deal struck with the UFC.

The lawsuit alleges that Affliction “elected to serve its own financial interests at the expense of its partners” and hints that UFC may soon be added as another plaintiff.

Nick Catone and Steve Steinbeiss will square off in a middleweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 20 on January 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, with their immediate UFC futures likely on the line.

Both fighters have lost two-straight coming into the bout, with Catone (7-2) losing to Tim Credeur and Mark Munoz following a debut win over Derek Downey, while Steibeiss (4-3) dropped his lone WEC fight to Carmelo Marrero before falling to Ryan Jensen in his first UFC fight.

The WEC announced today via it’s official Twitter page that Jamie Varner would defend his lightweight belt against interim lightweight champion Benson Henderson at WEC 46 on January 10. The event is scheduled for the Arco Arena in Sacramento California.

UFC lightweight Corey Hill and middleweight Patrick Cote, both sidelined since 2008 with injuries, will return to the Octagon in 2010. Hill expects to return from his gruesome leg break in early-2010, possibly in January, while Cote says he’ll be back in action around April.

Strikeforce announced on Saturday that it has signed DREAM welterweight champ Marius “Whitemare” Zaromskis to a multi-fight contract, with his debut likely to come at the promotion’s December 19 event in San Jose, California.

Welterweights Jon Fitch and Mike Pierce, both left without opponents due to a recent rash of injuries, have agreed to square off at UFC 107 on December 19 in Memphis, Tennessee. Fitch is coming off back-to-back wins over Akihiro Gono and Paulo Thiago, while Pierce has won six-straight, including an upset over Brock Larson in his UFC debut in September.

A previously-reported matchup between Houston Alexander and Kimbo Slice has reportedly been agreed upon by Alexander for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale on December 5 in Las Vegas and will apparently be contested at a 215-pound catchweight, according to NWITimes.com.

Lightweight Josh Neer has been released by the UFC after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Gleison Tibau last Saturday at UFC 104, his second-straight loss and third in his last four fights.

Heavyweight Pat Barry, who earned “Fight of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” honors for his second-round knockout of Antoni Hardonk at UFC 104, will be sidelined at least two months to recover from surgery needed to repair a broken thumb suffered in the win. Barry has his sights set on fighting Stefan Struve when he returns to action.

Popular featherweight Urijah Faber, sidelined since a June loss to Mike Brown due to a broken hand, will square off with Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46 on January 10 in Sacramento, California. Despite losing four-straight and six of his last seven, veteran Jens Pulver will return to featherweight action in the WEC cage in early-2010.

Injuries to middleweight champion Anderson Silva and welterweight title-holder Georges St-Pierre could alter the UFC’s plans for early-2010, as both fighters may be sidelined longer than expected.

Silva’s recovery from recent elbow surgery could delay his title defense against Vitor Belfort rumored for UFC 108 in January, while St-Pierre may be unable to return until March.