Report: Guillard Replaces Florian, Faces Dunham on Jan. 22

Melvin Guillard: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

News of Florian’s withdrawal from the matchup was first reported on Monday by MMAJunkie.com. A subsequent report from Heavy.com revealed that Florian suffered a knee injury in training, and that Guillard had been pulled from his undercard bout against Yves Edwards to replace the former lightweight title challenger.

A contestant on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the 27-year-old Guillard has experienced something of a mid-career resurgence since joining up with famed trainer Greg Jackson. After suffering a second-round submission loss to Nate Diaz in September 2009, the “Young Assassin” bounced back with a unanimous decision win over touted Brazilian Ronys Torres in February. Guillard went 3-0 in 2010, also notching victories against Jeremy Stephens and Waylon Lowe, and is 6-1 in his last seven outings.

Dunham, meanwhile, will look to rebound from a highly controversial split decision loss to former champion Sean Sherk at UFC 119. The defeat was the first black mark on Dunham’s ledger after the rangy southpaw began his career 11-0, including four victories inside the Octagon. Considered one of the premier prospects in the UFC’s 155-pound division, Dunham holds notable wins over the likes of Tyson Griffin, Marcus Aurelio and Cleber Luciano.