After suffering an undisclosed hand injury during training, former WEC Welterweight Champion “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit has withdrawn from his featured bout with British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley at UFC 108. Submission ace Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett has stepped in to replace the injured Condit in the fight.

Hazelett had previously been scheduled to meet judo standout Karo “The Heat” Parisyan at UFC 106, but Parisyan withdrew from the fight on very short notice and left Hazelett without an opponent.

Hazelett (12-4-0) has not competed since defeating fellow young gun Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory with an impressive modified reverse armbar at UFC 91 in November of 2008. Prior to that, he submitted Josh Burkman with a Submission of the Year honoured armbar late in the second round of their TUF 7 Finale bout.

Known as one of the top submission practitioners in the UFC’s welterweight division, the 23-year-old Hazelett has impressed in each of his Octagon appearances and put on a solid showing in defeat against top contender Josh Koscheck back at UFC 82. A win over Daley would springboard Hazelett from prospect status to a legitimate contender himself.

With nine of his career victories coming by way of submission, Hazelett’s game plan for the fight should be straightforward as he aims to avoid his opponent’s devastating knockout power.

Daley (22-8-2) is a near-polar opposite of Hazelett and makes no secret of his distain for the ground game. With an incredible 17 wins coming by of knockout, Daley is arguably the most feared and powerful knockout artist at 170 pounds. In addition, has has shown considerable improvement in his wrestling since losing to Jake Shields at EliteXC: “Heat” in 2008.

While Daley’s ground game and submission defence still need work, a single punch may be all that he needs to end Hazelett’s night in a hurry. Daley will, as he always does, aim to keep the fight standing where he can pick up another highlight-reel knockout and take a big step towards the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Condit, whose hand injury was not disclosed in detail, will miss out on an opportunity to potentially position himself in the promotion’s title picture, but he will likely return to action in the first third of 2010.

UFC 108: “Evans vs Silva” takes place on January 2, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.