(“…and verily, Carvalho did’st invoke the accursed ‘What the fucketh is thy problem, good sir?‘ rule, but forsooth, it was all for naught.” / Photo via Getty Images)

When Clay Guida dropped out of UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez due to injury last week, it looked like Chad Mendes might be forced to beat up another outmatched palooka just to stay busy at the April 20th event in San Jose. (Such is his life — just body-shottin’ dudes who don’t deserve to be there, and collecting paychecks. It’s sad, really.) But Mendes’s latest replacement opponent could be an even tougher test than Guida was.

MMAJunkie reports that Darren Elkins — who just scored a first-round TKO over Antonio Carvalho during the UFC 158 prelims over the weekend — has gotten the call to step in against Mendes at UFC on FOX 7. Elkins’s latest victory increased his current win streak to 5-0 since dropping to featherweight in 2011, including previous wins over tough competitors like Diego Brandao and Michihiro Omigawa. If his name still isn’t ringing a bell, it’s probably because every single one of Elkins’s UFC fights have been relegated to the prelims; when somebody says that a fighter has “quietly amassed an impressive win streak,” this is exactly the kind of thing they’re talking about.

Unfortunately, Elkins’s match against Mendes likely won’t make the UFC on FOX 7 main card either — but a dominant win over a former title contender could change his fortunes significantly. Making that happen on a five-week layoff is easier said than done, of course. Your predictions?

It may be an all heavyweight main card, but the bantamweight is stealing the show. Props: MMAFighting.com

We’re just hours away from UFC 146, so it’s time to turn on FX and watch the preliminary card. This evening’s all heavyweight main card will kick off with the lighter guys, as Diego Brandao makes his first post-TUF appearance against Darren Elkins, Dan Hardy and Mayhem Miller fight for their careers against Duane Ludwig and C.B. Dollaway, and Edson Barboza takes on Jamie Varner in what may potentially be the squash match/upset of the year. Handling tonight’s liveblogging duties will be Seth Falvo, who will be frantically checking to see if his beloved Philadelphia 76ers can take Game Seven during commercial breaks. Come in after the jump for live play-by-play.

(Separated at birth??)

The UFC’s May 26th stop in Las Vegas — which will hopefully be headlined by Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem — continues to pick up manpower.

In the heavyweight division, undefeated former Strikeforce contender Shane Del Rosario will make his UFC debut against the suddenly-not-retired Gabriel Gonzaga. Del Rosario’s 11-0 record includes 10 wins by first-round stoppage, but he hasn’t competed since his submission of Lavar Johnson a year ago. Meanwhile, Gonzaga just picked up his first win in the UFC since 2009 when he choked out Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142. Gonzaga’s last three UFC victories have come against Octagon first-timers, which might be a bad omen for Del Rosario.

(As fighter highlight-reels go, this one’s pretty awful. But how ’bout that flying knee KO at 2:44?)

Rejoice! The UFC returns from its four-week hiatus this coming Sunday, when UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko goes down at the San Diego Sports Arena. (Versus, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT) The only newcomer on the card is Brazilian prospect Charles Oliveira, who will be putting his undefeated record on the line against Darren Elkins — who won his own UFC debut in March when Duane Ludwig’s ankle exploded. Does Charles have what it takes to make it in the big leagues? Get to know him below and let us know what you think…

CHARLES OLIVEIRA (LW)
Experience: 12-0 record (6 KO/TKOs, 5 submissions), primarily in Brazilian promotions. Last competed in a four-man tournament at a Warriors Challenge event in February, where he defeated Rosenildo Rocha by rear-naked choke and Diego Bataglia by slam-knockout. It was the third multi-fight tourney that Oliveira has won during his career. He made his pro debut in March 2008, sweeping an eight-man tournament at a Predador FC event, then cruised through a four man bracket later that year at Korea Fight 1. So fighting just one guy in a night is like a day off for him.

Will be facing: Darren Elkins (12-1, 1-0 UFC)

(Sorry, Duane. Looks like a pre-existing condition to me.)

Now that we’ve all seen this horrific picture of Duane “Bang” Ludwig’s ankle doing something it is not made to do during his fight with Darren Elkins at the UFC on Versus event, let’s all take a second to say, ‘Daaaaaamn!’ After that we can dry heave a little and move on to the actual reason why we’re revisiting this moment of forced empathy. According to MMA Weekly (and common sense), Ludwig is going to be out of action a little while. As you might have already guessed, that thing is going to require surgery, at which point doctors will reportedly put three pins in that mangled ankle, removing one once it’s suitably healed up, and leaving the other two in there permanently to act as embedded foreign objects with which to pummel future opponents.

The weird thing is, he’s projected to return in as little as six months, though Ludwig insists he’ll “be back before everybody expects.”

Let us be the first to say, take your time, Duane. This isn’t Texas high school football. No one is going to think you’re a pussy if you don’t tape it up and jump right back in there. We admire your fierce determination, but until you can stand to hear the sound of someone snapping a celery stick in half without flinching, you don’t want to be jumping back in that Octagon.  Let’s not forget the cautionary tale of Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons.

(Daniel Roberts grappling highlight reel. Props: YouTube.com/ninjaroberts)

Three hungry up-and-comers will be making their Octagon debuts this Sunday, filling some gaps on the "Vera vs. Jones" preliminary card. But who will explode on the scene, and who will blow the biggest opportunity of their careers like total losers? Read on and get acquainted with…

DANIEL "Ninja" ROBERTS (WW)
Experience: 9-0 record (7 wins by submission), mostly in Oklahoma-based promotions. Most recently scored a submission-via-punches over MMA old-schooler Anthony Macias in January.
Will be fighting: John Howard (13-4, 3-0 UFC)
Lowdown: Roberts is filling in for Anthony Johnson, who dropped off the card last month with an injury. He comes from an amateur wrestling background, and as you can see in the video above, his grappling is ferocious. Roberts currently trains at the Cesar Gracie camp with Strikeforce champions Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, and Gilbert Melendez. He’s thrilled to be fighting John Howard: “I have to say that if I were to pick my opponent for the UFC, it probably would be him. Not to say that he’s a bad guy or an easy win — the fact that he’s 3-0 in the UFC is actually a good thing. I checked him out, I saw what he has, and I definitely feel like my grappling is way ahead of his…if he can last through the first and second round, then he’s pretty tough, because I plan on giving it everything I’ve got…I know a lot of people like to stand up and bang, but I think I’m gonna win a lot of fans over with my grappling. I move really well on the ground and there are not a lot of people that can move like me."