Yahya Injured; Poirier Draws Replacement Young at UFC 131

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An undisclosed injury has forced Rani Yahya from his scheduled UFC 131 featherweight scrap with Dustin Poirier, the UFC announced Tuesday. Taking the Brazilian’s place against “The Diamond” will be Octagon newcomer Jason Young.

Headlined by a heavyweight No. 1 contender bout between Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos, UFC 131 goes down June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The event will also feature Shane Carwin, as the former title challenger returned from neck surgery to take on the grappling champ Jon Olav Einemo.

Representing London’s Team Titan, Young rides back-to-back victories into his showdown with Poirier. The Brit is a veteran of the defunct Cage Rage promotion and holds three of his eight career victories by knockout. “Shotgun” most recently outpointed Jorge Britto on April 2, notching his fourth career win by decision.

After earning seven consecutive victories to start his career, Poirier was outpointed by Danny Castillo in his WEC debut last year. The 22-year-old rebounded from the defeat with a stellar performance three months later at WEC 53, knocking out Zach Micklewright just 53 seconds into their bout. Poirier was successful in his UFC debut less than two months later, as he battered contender Josh Grispi for three rounds en route to a one-sided unanimous nod.