Sean Sherk will replace an injured
Tyson Griffin in a lightweight bout against
Jim Miller at
UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, Sherdog.com has confirmed with sources close to the matchup.
MMAWeekly.com was the first to report of Sherk's move from a UFC 108 undercard bout against
Rafaello Oliveira to the main-card bout against Miller. Oliveira is expected to receive a new opponent in his undercard slot.
Griffin’s manager, Tom Call, said the 25-year-old Californian injured himself in training Thursday and following a visit to the doctor, decided to pull out of the bout. Call would not specify the type of injury that the Xtreme Couture fighter sustained.
“He sustained an injury that wasn’t too serious, but it will prevent him from training against the caliber of opponent that Jim Miller is,” Call told Sherdog.com.
Call said the decision was difficult for Griffin, who’s never withdrawn from a bout before. Call added that Griffin would return to training in mid to late January.
The 36-year-old Sherk, who spent a few months sidelined with a shoulder injury this summer, will look to right the ship after dropping two of his last three bouts. The Minnesota wrestler lost a unanimous decision to upstart
Frankie Edgar at UFC 98 last May and was unsuccessful in his bid to win back the lightweight title from
B.J. Penn at UFC 84 in May 2008. Sherk earned a unanimous decision over Tyson Griffin at UFC 90 in October 2008.
N.J. native Miller, who’s won four of his five UFC appearances, earned a second-round technical knockout against
Steve Lopez at UFC 103 last September in Dallas.
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