Injuries force Ludwig and Hallman off Fight Night 24 card; Wilks and Hendricks pegged as replacements

Duane "Bang" Ludwig, who was set to face TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah at UFC Fight Night 24, has been forced to withdraw from the bout do to an injured sternum and, according to UFC officials, will be replaced by the UK's James Wilks.

Sadollah (4-2) rebounded strong from his loss to Dong Hyun Kim back in May with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Peter Sobotta at UFC 122.  The former Middleweight also holds victories over C.B. Dollaway, Phil Baroni and Brad Blackburn, with his only other defeat coming by TKO against Johnny Hendricks in 2009.

Wilks (7-4), meanwhile, became the TUF 9 winner by submitting DaMarques Johnson in the season's finale.  In the time since, the Brit has had mixed results, defeating Peter Sobotta in between losses to Matt Brown and most recently Claude Patrick at UFC 120.  With an overall record of 2-2 with the promotion, Wilks could be fighting for his spot on the roster.

In other Fight Night 24 news, Johny Hendricks has been pegged as a replacement for an injured Dennis Hallman, and will now face T.J. Waldburger on the March card.

Hendricks (9-1) will look to bounce back from a closely contended unanimous decision loss to Rick Story at last December's The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.  The defeat was the first of his professional career and snapped a nine fight winning streak, which included four UFC victories.  During his time with the promotion, the two-time Division I wrestling champion has defeated Amir Sadollah, Ricardo Funch, T.J. Grant, and Charlie Brenneman.

Waldburger (13-5), on the other hand, debuted back in September at Fight Night 23, where he scored a unanimous decision win over fellow newcomer David Mitchell.  The victory improved his current streak to four, which includes two wins under the Shark Fights banner against Pat Healy and Shannon Ritch.

UFC Fight Night 24 will take place March 26th from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.  The stacked card will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight clash between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and rising prospect Phil Davis.  Also featured will be a Welterweight showdown between former title contender Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson, as well as a much anticipated Featherweight rematch between Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan.