Featherweight fighter Leonard Garcia (14-6-1) has been removed from The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale for undisclosed reasons. Garcia had been scheduled to meet Tyler Toner (10-2) on the preliminary card of the free Spike TV broadcast, but will now be replaced by Ian “The Barn Owl” Loveland (13-7).
The news was first reported by Sherdog.com on Thursday.
Garcia was to make his return to the UFC since his drop to featherweight in February 2008. He’s gone 1-1-1 in his last three fights, dropping a split decision to Mark Hominick at WEC 51, earning a split decision in his epic fight with Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48, and fighting to a draw with George Roop at WEC 47.
Toner will now open the first ever UFC featherweight bout against Loveland at the December event. Under Zufffa, Toner is 1-1 as a WEC fighter having lost to Diego Nunes by unanimous decision at WEC 51 and earned a first round TKO win over Brandon Visher in his WEC debut at WEC 48.
This will be Loveland’s first fight under Zuffa and had won six straight fights to earn a shot with the UFC. The Team Quest fighter has fought for various promotions across North America in his career. He’s earned 6 wins by T(KO) and 6 by submission, only once fighting to decision.
The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale is set for December 4th at The Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature several matchups from this past season of The Ultimate Fighter.