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UFC 140: Brian Ebersole vs Claude Patrick booked with Rory MacDonald injured

Canada is down a native son on Dec. 10, 2011.

Kelowna's Rory MacDonald has been forced out of his upcoming welterweight fight with Brian Ebersole at UFC 140, which is scheduled to take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, because of an undisclosed injury.

Ultimate Fighting Championship today broke the bad news, revealing that fellow countryman, Claude Patrick, has been tapped to battle "Bad Boy" instead.

MacDonald, 22, is widely considered the next big thing in the UFC's stacked 170-pound division. He's won his last two bouts in impressive fashion, and save for a late burnout against Carlos Condit, would be undefeated. His upcoming fight with 63-fight mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran, Ebersole, was expected to truly test the promising young fighter's skills.

He'll clearly have to wait a little while longer. The good news is he has more than enough time on his side.

Ebersole, meanwhile, picked up a recent win over Dennis Hallman at UFC 133, winning via technical knockout and earning a $70,000 post-fight "thanks for getting those horrifying shorts off TV" bonus. He will look to make it three straight inside the Octagon when he locks horns with "The Prince."

Patrick is currently enjoying a three-fight win streak of his own inside the eight-walled cage, taking out Ricardo Funch and then outpointing James Wilks and Daniel Roberts on the judges scorecards since making his promotional debut about 18 months ago.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will headline UFC 140, defending his 205-pound title not against Lyoto Machida (not Rashad Evans, as was originally planned).  Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will rematch Frank Mir, while his twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, will go head-on against Tito Ortiz.

For all the latest news and notes on "Jones vs. Machida" hit up or event archive right here.

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