Georges St. Pierre injury update: UFC champ sprained knee, expected to fight next in early 2012

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre was today forced out of his upcoming title fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 137, which is scheduled for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 29, 2011.

Company president Dana White explained that a knee injury sustained in training over the weekend was the cause for the last-minute scratch. However, the extent of the damage to the promotion's biggest box office star was not immediately clear.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, however, recently shed additional light on the case, telling the Los Angeles Times that St. Pierre sprained his medial collateral ligament (it's not torn) and that the Canadian sensation will be on the shelf for four to six weeks.

The report indicates that St. Pierre is still scheduled to undergo additional tests; however, it makes no mention of a potential surgery to correct the problem.

Despite the mild diagnosis, Fertitta expects St. Pierre to return to action "during the first quarter of 2012." White has already stated that Condit will not compete at UFC 137 and will wait until St. Pierre is fully recovered.

In the meantime, the welterweight fight between B.J. Penn vs. Nick Diaz has been promoted and will serve as the new UFC 137 main event.