With Bobby Green Out, Yancy Medeiros Steps in to Face Jim Miller at UFC 172

This weekend's card for UFC 172 is right around the corner, but there was still time for the "injury bug" to shake things up before Saturday night.

Perennial lightweight contender Jim Miller was originally slated to face Bobby Green to kick off the pay-per-view portion of the card, but an injury suffered by Green has forced him to withdraw from the bout one week out from the fight. With the event quickly approaching, the UFC pulled Yancy Medeiros from his scheduled bout with newcomer Joe Ellenberger to face the New Jersey native.

The UFC's website announced the news late Sunday night and the report also states there is yet to be an opponent named to face Ellenberger on the card. While the organization made the news of Green pulling out of the fight official over the weekend, rumors of him withdrawing started to swirl on Friday when Twitter staple Front Row Brian first reported word of a possible shake-up.

Green having to withdraw from the bout with Miller at UFC 172 marks the second consecutive fight where he's been forced to the sidelines. The surging lightweight was originally slated to face Abel Trujillo at UFC 169 back in February, but he ultimately withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons. The rash of setbacks have served to stunt the solid momentum for Green as he has won seven consecutive showings, three of which that have come under the UFC banner.

The bout between Miller and Green was set to be a key matchup in the lightweight divisional picture, but those circumstances will obviously change due to the change of opponent. While the scrappy Hawaiian has a reputation for being a very game fighter, Medeiros has been unsuccessful in his past two outings and is a distant stretch from where the Whippany-based fighter currently stands in the rankings. 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.