(photo by Arman Guler via mirror.co.uk)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced an injury to another fighter on Tuesday afternoon. The promotion confirmed that featherweight Rani Yahya (16-6) had suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced to withdraw from his upcoming UFC 131 bout against Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (9-1).
The news was posted on the promotions Twitter site (@UFC), which also reported that newcomer Brit Jason “Shotgun” Young (8-3), would be replacing Yahya at the event.
UFC 131: Lesnar vs. dos Santos is scheduled to take place on June 11 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Poirier is also a relative newcomer to the UFC, having made his promotional debut last January at UFC 125. “The Diamond” fought at lightweight in the WEC and dropped to 145 lbs for the UFC, earning a unanimous decision win over Josh Grispi at the New Year’s Day event. In the WEC, Poirier was just 1-1 earning a TKo win over Zach Micklewright at WEC 52, and losing a decision to Danny Castillo at WEC 50.
Young competed last month for the first time in North America at a MMA: The Reckoning event in one of Ontario’s first ever mma events. “Shotgun” won a unanimous decision over local Jorge Britto at the event, improving his record to 2-0 in his last two, and 4-1 in his last five fights. Young has won three bouts via (T)KO, one by submission, and four by decision.