Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya in the Works for UFC 131

A featherweight bout between Dustin Poirier and Rani Yahya is in the works for UFC 131 on June 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Poirier (9-1, 1-0 UFC) recently played spoiler in his UFC debut, defeating former number-one contender Josh Grispi by unanimous decision at UFC 125. The fight also marked Poirier's debut at featherweight, after spending the first nine fights of his career at lightweight.

Yahya (16-6, 1-0 UFC) also made a successful UFC debut in his last bout, defeating former featherweight champion Mike Brown by unanimous decision at UFC: Fight for the Troops 2. The win snapped a two-fight skid for Yahya, who came to the UFC with a 4-4 mark in the WEC as a bantamweight.

Poirier last three fights:
Win (Unanimous Decision) Josh Grispi - UFC 125: Resolution (01/01/2011)
Win (TKO - Punches) Zach Micklewright - WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki (11/11/2010)
Loss (Unanimous Decision) Danny Castillo - WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez (08/18/2010)

Yahya last three fights:
Win (Unanimous Decision) Mike Brown - UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 (01/22/2011)
Loss (Unanimous Decision) Takeya Mizugaki - WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber (04/24/2010)
Loss (TKO - Punches) Joseph Benavidez - WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff (12/19/2009)

Props: Heavy.com

Fresh Faces: UFC 125 edition

UFC 125 rings in the New Year with a lightweight title match between champion Frankie Edgar and undefeated challenger Gray Maynard.

The card also features four fighters making their UFC debuts, including three WEC standouts. Meet them in this edition of Fresh Faces.

Name: Josh Grispi

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Dustin Poirier

Record: 14-1 (6 (T)KOs, 7 submissions) for the WEC and various U.S. promotions

Recent body of work: Submitted LC Davis by first-round guillotine choke at "WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus" in June

Who he is: Grispi enters his UFC debut riding a 10-fight winning streak, including eight straight first-round finishes and a 4-0 mark in the WEC. Originally, Grispi was scheduled to face Erik Koch at WEC 52, but the UFC decided to grant Grispi a shot at the newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo instead. After Aldo was forced to withdraw from the bout with a back injury, Poirier became Grispi's new opponent.

Name: Dustin Poirier

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Josh Grispi

Record: 8-1 (5 (T)KOs, 3 submissions) for the WEC and various promotions in the United States and Canada

Recent body of work: Defeated Zach Micklewright by TKO in just 0:53 at "WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki" in November

Who he is: Poirier will step in to face Grispi after Grispi's original opponent, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, was forced to withdraw due to an injury. A Louisiana native, Poirier rebounded from his first career loss -- a decision to Danny Castillo -- with a 53-second TKO win over Micklewright in November, and will drop from lightweight to featherweight for the first time in his career.

Name: Diego Nunes

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Mike Brown

Record: 15-1 (5 (T)KOs, 6 submissions) for the WEC and various Brazilian promotions

Recent body of work: Defeated Tyler Toner by unanimous decision at "WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan" in September

Who he is: Hailing from Brazil, Nunes entered the WEC having finished all 11 of his professional fights. After suffering his first career loss to LC Davis, Nunes rebounded with back-to-back victories in 2010 to run his WEC record to 4-1. Since entering the WEC, all five of Nunes' fights have gone to decision.

Name: Antonio McKee

Weight class: Lightweight

Fighting: Jacob Volkmann

Record: 25-3-2 (3 (T)KOs, 4 submissions) for various promotions in the United States, Canada and Mexico

Recent body of work: TKO'd Luciano Azevedo in the first round at "MFC 26: Retribution" in September

Who he is: The 40-year-old McKee has not lost a fight since dropping a decision to Karo Parisyan in 2003, a span that has lasted 15 fights (14-0-1). Long criticized for being a boring fighter (18 of his 25 wins have come by decision), McKee has finished his last two fights in the first round. In his most recent bout against Luciano, McKee stated that he would retire if he failed to finish the fight. He made good on his guarantee, blasting Luciano with elbows that forced a doctor stoppage.

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