An injury has forced former top contender Josh “The Fluke” Grispi out of his upcoming featherweight bout with Matt “The Real One” Grice at UFC 136 in Houston, Texas. Popular TUF 12 competitor Nam Phan has now stepped in to replace Grispi and will square off with Grice on the October 8th card.

Phan has posted just one victory in his last five fights and is thus far winless inside the Octagon, though he was the victim of a highly controversial Split Decision loss to Leonard Garcia in December. Grice returned to the UFC at UFC Live 4 in June, but was stopped in the first round by Ricardo Lamas.

Phan (16-9-0) is a ten-year veteran of the sport who has battled tough opposition throughout his career. He has struggled when facing divisional elite, however, and his apparent victory over Garcia in his UFC debut last year would have been his biggest to date. It was not to be, though, as two judges bizarrely awarded the bout to Garcia. Phan, a talented striker, most recently faced former WEC champion Mike Brown this past weekend at UFC 133, but suffered a Unanimous Decision loss.

Grice (14-4-0) opened his career with nine straight wins before falling to Terry Etim in his UFC debut in 2007. He would go 1-2 in his next three fights inside the Octagon, including a controversial loss to Matt Veach, before being released from the promotion. Grice battled his way back to the UFC with four wins for Freestyle Cage Fighting, but was knocked out by Lamas in his return in June. He will face a tough test against Phan in what could be a Loser Leaves Town bout.

UFC 136 takes place on October 8th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event features a UFC Lightweight Championship trilogy bout between 155-pound rivals Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

UFC 136 Fight Card (subject to change):

– Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs Gray “The Bully” Maynard [UFC Lightweight Championship]
– José “Scarface” Aldo vs Kenny “KenFlo” Florian [UFC Featherweight Championship]
– Chael Sonnen vs “All American” Brian Stann
– Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman vs Mike Russow
– Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon vs Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard

– Anthony “Showtime” Pettis vs Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens
– Demian Maia vs Jorge “The Sandman” Santiago

– Stipe Miocic vs Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran
– Aaron “A-Train” Simpson vs Nick “The Jersey Devil” Catone
– Nam Phan vs Matt “The Real One” Grice
– Steve “The Robot” Cantwell vs Mike Massenzio

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)