Hours after learning opponent Thiago Alves failed a CT scan and was scratched from the card, his opponent, Jon Fitch (21-3 MMA, 11-1 UFC), has agreed to replace Jake Ellenberger (22-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and fight fellow welterweight Ben Saunders (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on the UFC 111 pay-per-view main card.

Multiple sources today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the change to Saturday's card, which takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

A source told MMAjunkie.com said Saunders specifically asked for the new bout when Fitch became available.

Ellenberger has been promised his "show" and "win" money to make up for the UFC's last-minute switch, we're told.

An official announcement is expected any time now from the UFC.

Fitch and Alves were scheduled to fight in a featured UFC 111 bout with potential title implications. The duo first met in 2007, when Fitch defeated Alves. However, an irregularity in a pre-fight CT prompted the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board understandably to err on the side of caution and nix the rematch. As we reported earlier today, Alves' agent, Malki Kawa of First Round Management, said the fighter doesn't have any serious injuries or ailments and hopes to return at UFC 112 in April.

Fitch looks for his fourth straight UFC win since a loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Saunders, meanwhile, recently rebounded from his first career loss (to Mike Swick) with an impressive KO win over Marcus Davis.

The UFC 111 card now includes:

MAIN CARD

* Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy (for welterweight title)
* Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir (for interim heavyweight title)
* Jon Fitch vs. Ben Saunders
* Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller
* Fabricio Camoes vs. Kurt Pellegrino

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

* Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
* Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)

* Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace
* Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares
* Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto