T.J. Waldburger out, Sean Pierson meets Kenny Robertson at UFC 161

With T.J. Waldburger (16-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC) forced off the card, Sean Pierson (13-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) now will face Kenny Robertson (12-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at next month’s UFC 161 event in Canada.

UFC officials on Thursday revealed the new welterweight fight booking. The nature of Waldburger’s removal from the card was not announced.

Featuring a headliner between UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao and former WEC title holder Eddie Wineland, UFC 161 takes place June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnipeg and is the promotion’s first visit to the Manitoba province.

Pierson-Robertson will be part of the preliminary card on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FX and a main card on pay-per-view.

Robertson in February picked up the first win of his UFC career with a “Submission of the Night” kneebar victory over Brock Jardine at UFC 157. Prior to that, Robertson had a pair of UFC losses in two separate stints – a 2011 loss to Mike Pierce at UFC 126 and a 2012 loss to Aaron Simpson.

After starting his UFC career 1-2, Pierson has rebounded with back-to-back wins over Lance Benoist and Jake Hecht. Pierson was originally expected to fight at UFC 158 in March, but an injury forced him to withdraw from a planned matchup with Rick Story. He’ll be fighting for the first time since September 2012.

Waldburger was looking for his fourth win in five fights, a run that included a pair of “Submission of the Night” bonuses.

With the change to the card, UFC 161 now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland – for interim bantamweight title
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
• Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
• Patrick Barry vs. Shawn Jordan
• Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
• Sam Stout vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
• Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei
• Ryan Jimmo vs. Igor Pokrajac

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6 p.m. ET)

• Yves Jabouin vs. Dustin Pague
• Sean Pierson vs. Kenny Robertson
• Mitch Clarke vs. John Maguire
• Roland Delorme vs. Edwin Figueroa

For the latest on UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Kenny Robertson)