UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says a torn abductor suffered in his successful July title defense against Thiago Alves is completely healed, and that he’ll fight the winner of Mike Swick-Dan Hardy early next year, likely in March or April.

Dan Henderson, a former PRIDE title-holder and current middleweight contender, has likely signed with Strikeforce, UFC President Dana White recently told Yahoo Sports. According to the report, a source close to the situation confirmed Henderson had signed with Strikeforce and White echoed the news, though Strikeforce’s Scott Coker denied a deal is done.

Heavyweight challenger Shane Carwin confirmed on his official website today that UFC champion Brock Lesnar will be unable to defend his title at UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas.

“My manager Jason Genet just told me that UFC 108 is not happening,” wrote Carwin. “Brock has Mono and what the UFC has told me is that I have earned the title shoot but I have to wait for the title holder.”

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Ben Rothwell could square off at UFC 110, according to a post on The Underground, with both heavyweights looking to rebound from recent losses at the February 20 card in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 110, which has yet to be officially announced, is expected to be co-headlined by Wanderlei Silva’s middleweight debut against Yoshihiro Akiyama.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will be unable to fight Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 108 on January 2, according to Heavy.com, likely leaving the traditional blockbuster event without a championship headliner.

Illness prevented Lesnar from fighting at UFC 106 later this month and the fight was targeted for UFC 108, but with Lesnar still sidelined the bout will again be delayed, likely to UFC 109 on February 6.

On the eighth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10, Team Rampage’s Marcus Jones looked to advance to the quarterfinals and prevent Team Rashad from going undefeated as he took on Mike Wessel in the tournament’s final opening round fight. Also on the episode, the matchups were determined for the next round of fights.

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.

Tickets for UFC 108, the UFC’s traditional year-end blockbuster event which takes place on January 2 in Las Vegas, go on sale next week.

With injuries sidelining title-holders Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, and Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn headlining UFC 107 in December, and heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar potentially unavailable due to an extended illness, UFC 108, generally one of the most-stacked cards of the year, could be left without a championship headliner

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.

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.

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.

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.