Originally Posted by MMAJUNKIE

Veteran fighter Gary Goodridge (23-17-1) has stepped in to replace Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) and will fight Paul Buentello (25-10) at Saturday's "Affliction: Banned" event.

Buentello confirmed the opponent switch with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) just a few hours after Friday's weigh-ins.

The California State Athletic Commission declared Emelianenko medically unfit to fight minutes before he was scheduled to weigh in at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the same venue that hosts tomorrow's FSN- and PPV-televised event.

"It's official," Buentello told MMAjunkie.com. "We weigh in at around 11 (a.m.) tomorrow."

Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was not immediately available to confirm the opponent switch or if bout agreements have been signed.

Goodridge, 42, fought in some of the earliest PRIDE and UFC events during his 12-year career. Despite losing his only two contests in 2008, he's won six of his past nine fights overall.

The Buentello-Goodridge fight is slated for the FSN portion of "Banned," which features a PPV main event between Fedor Emelianko and Tim Sylvia.