The card of UFC 140 has undergone a shift following an undisclosed injury to rising welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald (12-1). Canadian submission ace Claude Patrick (14-1) has been tapped to fill the vacant spot opposite MacDonald's intended opponent, Brian Ebersole (48-14-1).
Patrick was originally slated to face "The Ultimate Fighter 11" veteran Rich Attonito on the night's undercard. UFC officials are now searching for a replacement opponent for Attonito.
A Jiu-Jitsu brown belt known as "The Prince", Patrick is a former TFC Canadian MMA Welterweight champion training out of Ontario's Elite Mixed Fighters. The 31-year-old has quietly put together a three-fight win streak inside the Octagon, claiming wins over Ricardo Funch, James Wilks, and Daniel Roberts.
He now faces Ebersole, a twelve-year journeyman who received his first shot in the UFC this year. Since then the colorful 30-year-old seems to found a home, pushing his win streak to nine with victories over a risqué Dennis Hallman and the perpetually-tough Chris Lytle.
UFC 140 is slated for December 10th at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Jon Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title against former champion Lyoto Machida in the night's main event.
UFC 140 fight card:
Main card:
Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
Heavyweight: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight: Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Featherweight: Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Welterweight: Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
Preliminary card:
Light Heavyweight: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Middleweight: Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Lightweight: John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Lightweight: Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
Bantamweight: Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Welterweight: Rich Attonito vs. TBA