Lineker removed from UFC card due to dengue fever

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight contender John Lineker will be unable to fight Cody Garbrandt on Sunday's UFC Fight Night 83 card in Pittsburgh after contracting dengue fever in Parana, Brazil.

Portal do Vale Tudo first reported the news, which was confirmed by a statement posted on his Instagram account Monday. He apologized to Garbrandt and his fans.

The tropical disease is spread through mosquito bites.

UFC officials have not announced a replacement opponent for Garbrandt for the event, which will air on Fox Sports 1 and features a main event bout between Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira.

Cerrone was originally scheduled to face Tim Means, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout last month after he was flagged for a possible violation of the organization's Anti-Doping policy.

A welterweight bout between Brandon Thatch and Siyar Bahadurzada has also been moved off the card and rescheduled for UFC 196 next month in Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj