Quinn Mulhern Injured; Ryan Couture Gets New UFC 164 Opponent

Strikeforce veteran Quinn Mulhern had been planning to drop to lightweight to face Ryan Couture at UFC 164 on Aug. 31 in Milwaukee, but has been forced out of the bout due to injury.

Mulhern fractured his right index finger in training. He tweeted about it on Tuesday, notifying his opponent of the injury.

“@RyanDCouture I wanted to give you a heads up man, just hurt myself…” he wrote, including a photo of the x-ray showing the fracture.

The UFC has already sprung into action, keeping Couture on the fight card by lining up The Ultimate Fighter 15 runner-up Al Iaquinta as his new opponent, according to a report by the Las Vegas Sun.

Couture (6-2) is making his second start for the promotion after moving over following the closure of Strikeforce.

He was on a four-fight streak entering the Octagon, but couldn’t keep the momentum going when he faced Ross Pearson at UFC on Fuel TV 9 in Sweden. Pearson took the fight to Couture, defeating him by TKO stoppage late in the second round.

Iaquinta (5-2-1) is also making his sophomore appearance for the UFC. He lost his promotional debut when he fought Michael Chiesa at the TUF 15 Finale in June. He had fought the entirety of his professional career under the Ring of Combat banner prior to entering the Octagon.

UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson puts his belt on the line against Anthony Pettis in the UFC 164 main event. Pettis is a late replacement for Henderson’s original challenger T.J. Grant.