Former International Fight League competitor Ian Loveland (13-7) will replace Leonard Garcia in a Dec. 4 featherweight bout against Tyler Toner (11-2) at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale in Las Vegas, according to Sherdog.com.
The Sherdog report says that Garcia withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons.
The Loveland vs. Toner fight will be the first featherweight bout under the UFC banner since the promotion’s President Dana White announced the UFC-WEC merger. Also on the card, Will Campuzano and Nick Pace will fight in the first UFC bantamweight match.
Besides his IFL experience, Loveland holds notable wins over UFC veteran Douglas Evans and current WEC fighter Will Kerr. Toner, meanwhile, scored a first round TKO win in his WEC debut but is coming off of a loss to featherweight contender Diego Nunes.