Stefan Struve injured, out of UFC Halifax bout against Junior dos Santos

A shoulder injury has forced Stefan Struve to withdraw from his heavyweight contest against Junior dos Santos on Feb. 19 at UFC Fight Night 105.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirmed the news on Thursday following an initial report by Brazilian outlet Combate.

“[Struve] is having surgery tomorrow morning to repair an injury to his shoulder,” a representative for the Dutch heavyweight told MMA Fighting. “He is very disappointed and looks forward to returning to competition as soon as possible. Thanks to all his fans for their ongoing support and he apologizes to Junior Dos Santos that they are not able to fight in February, but he looks forward to that fight in future.”

In a follow-up Instagram post on Thursday, Struve elaborated by saying he was undergoing to surgery to fix a torn labrum in his left shoulder and he expected to be sidelined about four months.

The fight between dos Santos (18-4) and Struve (28-8) was a rematch of a 2009 contest that dos Santos won via knockout in 54 seconds. The bout was expected to headline UFC Fight Night 105 in Halifax, Canada, and a search for a replacement opponent to challenge dos Santos is currently underway.

The short-notice opportunity could be a big one for any contender in the heavyweight division. Dos Santos is a former UFC heavyweight champion who currently sits at No. 4 on the UFC’s media-generated heavyweight rankings. The 32-year-old Brazilian has alternated wins and losses since dropping his title to Cain Velasquez in 2012, but he picked up major victories in recent years over Stipe Miocic and Ben Rothwell.

UFC Fight Night 105 takes place at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Canada. The event is slated to air live on FOX Sports 1.

An updated UFC Fight Night 105 fight card can be seen below.

• Junior dos Santos vs. TBA
• Elias Theodorou vs. Cezar Ferreira
• Thiago Santos vs. Jack Marshman
• Carla Esparza vs. Randa Markos
• Alvaro Herrera vs. Alessandro Ricci
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Nordine Taleb
• Reginaldo Vieira vs. Aiemann Zahabi