UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has stepped in to replace Quinn Mulhern after he suffered a sports injury in the run up to his fight against Ryan Couture at UFC 164.
The event is due to take place on August 31 in Milwaukee, and it will be the first time Iaquinta has stepped inside the cage since losing to Michael Chiesa at The Ultimate Fighter 15 finale.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Iaquinta stepped up four hours after Mulhern posted a picture of his fractured hand on Tuesday.
Both he and Couture have an opportunity to bounce back in the division after suffering losses in their previous outings. Couture was knocked out by Ross Pearson in April, and fighting on the same card as the mouthwatering lightweight championship bout between Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis is the perfect opportunity for him to get noticed.
This will be only his second fight in the UFC after he joined the promotion from Strikeforce.
It is not clear whether the two will face off on the main card or the preliminaries, but UFC 164 is shaping up as follows:
- Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis
- Josh Barnett vs. Frank Mir
- Clay Guida vs. Chad Mendes
- Erik Koch vs. Dustin Poirier
- Ben Rothwell vs. Brandon Vera
- Gleison Tibau vs. Jamie Varner
- Chico Camus vs. Kyung Ho Kang
- Nikita Krylov vs. Soa Palelei
- Tim Elliott vs. Louis Gaudinot
- Derek Brunson vs. Yoel Romero
- Magnus Cedenblad vs. Jared Hamman
- Pascal Krauss vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
- Ryan Couture vs. Al Iaquinta
The event’s main card airs live on pay-per-view from the BMO Harris Bradley Center following prelims on Fox Sports 1 and Facebook.
Mulhern, meanwhile, is out for an uncertain time.
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