Coleman out, GSP vs. Fitch to headline UFC 87

The injury bug continues to plague the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The promotion on Thursday, just two days prior to its marquee bout between B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk at UFC 84, announced that Mark Coleman has a knee injury that forces him out of the main event of UFC 87 on Aug. 9. He was expected to face Brock Lesnar.

The UFC acted quickly signing a title bout between current welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and No. 1 contender Jon Fitch. The fight will now headline UFC 87 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

"He's a very, very tough guy," said St. Pierre of Fitch on UFC.com. "I'm gonna have to train hard and be very well prepared because he may be my toughest fight yet."

"The whole goal is to get the belt and be in the position where guys can't duck me, run away, or say they don't want to fight me," said Fitch, also on the promotion's web site. "If I have the belt, there's no excuse, and if you say you're the best, then we're gonna fight. This is gonna be a tough fight, but I'm gonna make sure I'm sharp that night, and wherever the fight needs to go, that's fine with me."

Another feature bout of UFC 87 is a battle between lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta, which UFC president Dana White inferred is de facto elimination bout for a title shot against the winner of this Saturday's bout between Penn and Sherk.

"I think the winner (between Penn and Sherk)... there's another fight between Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian, I think the winner of that fight will fight the winner of this fight and let's say it's B.J. or Sean (who wins that match-up), I would consider that cleaning out the division," stated the UFC president. "Then I would sit down and talk to them about where they wanted to go from there."

In announcing Coleman's withdrawal from the bout, the UFC confirmed that Brock Lesnar is still expected to fight at UFC 87 and that a new opponent is yet to be determined.