UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar underwent minor surgery yesterday to treat a bacterial infection in his intestinal tract and has been released from the hospital.

With Lesnar out indefinitely, White told the LA Times on Tuesday that the UFC will schedule an interim heavyweight title fight, with Carwin and fellow contender Cain Velasquez expected to square off early next year.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, sidelined indefinitely from an undisclosed illness, is likely to require “major surgery” and may never fight again, UFC President Dana White today told TMZ.com.

According to White, Lesnar, who is also suffering from mono, has been hospitalized since collapsing during a trip to Canada last week. He will reportedly be transferred to the Mayo Clinic, where he’d undergo surgery for a “intestinal disorder”.

A matchup between light heavyweight contenders Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva will headline UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas, the UFC today announced.

Heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez were to meet in the card’s main event, which was announced just last week, but Nogueira was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a severe staph infection in his left elbow.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will be sidelined indefinitely as he continues to suffer from illnesses that recently forced him to postpone his scheduled title defense against Shane Carwin, while Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his matchup with fellow heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez which was to headline UFC 108.

A recently-reported matchup between heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez will headline UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas, the UFC announced on Tuesday, with the winner guaranteed a title shot against the winner of the upcoming fight between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin.

The UFC also confirmed that Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva will co-headline the pay-per-view event.

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.

UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who headlined Saturday’s UFC 104 event in Los Angeles, topped the pay-per-view event’s disclosed $922,000 fighter payroll, according to figures released Tuesday by the California State Athletic Commission.

Machida earned an event-high $200,000 for his controversial main event win over Rua, while “Shogun” received $155,000 for his efforts. Other top earners included Joe Stevenson ($94,000), Cain Velasquez ($70,000), and Chael Sonnen ($54,000).

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.

All twenty-two fighters who will be in action at Saturday’s UFC 104 event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles hit the scales today to weigh in for their bouts. Light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida (202.5) and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (204.5) successfully made weight for the UFC 104 main event, as did co-headliners Cain Velasquez (238) and Ben Rothwell (265).

Anthony Johnson, Josh Neer, and Gleison Tibau were the only fighters who failed to make weight, but their fights will go on as scheduled.

The UFC will hold a press conference on Tuesday at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to promote its October 24 “UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun” event, which takes place at the Staples Center in LA.

Though most of the focus at the press conference will be on UFC 104, White headed to Los Angeles on Monday with hopes of finalizing a deal with an undisclosed network to air a November event headlined by BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian. If finished, the deal could be announced as early as today.

Following news earlier Thursday that Shane Carwin was being pulled from his UFC 104 matchup against fellow heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez to headline UFC 106 in November against champion Brock Lesnar, Ben Rothwell has been tapped to replace Carwin and take on Velasquez at UFC 104 on October 24 in Los Angeles.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas, according to MMA Madness and Fighters Only.

Carwin had been scheduled to fight fellow heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 on October 24 in Las Angeles, but that bout has apparently been scrapped in favor of Lesnar-Carwin, with Velasquez then set to fight the winner, Fighters Only reports.