(Keep it down, Duffee. Can’t you see the man’s trying to catch some shut-eye?)

Whatever gypsy Dana White pissed off while riding around in his limousine and tossing chicken bones out the window, he’s got to be regretting it now.  The string of recent injury withdrawals continues, and this time it’s heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee who’s pulling out of his bout against Paul Buentello at UFC 107.  Duffee wouldn’t say what the nature of his injury is, and that’s smart even though it’s bound to fuel a bunch of internet speculation (is it shingles, Todd?  it’s shingles, isn’t it?), but he did refer to the decision to withdraw from the fight as "one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make."  Second hardest?  Choosing between regular Captain Crunch and Peanut Butter Crunch.  No matter which one you go with, afterwards you always feel like you screwed up big time.

Buentello is bummed at the news, but says that Stefan Struve and Mike Russow have both been discussed as possible replacements for Duffee.  For purely selfish reasons, we hope they go with Russow so Struve can get his David-n-Goliath on with Pat Barry, but that’s just us. 

On a related note, anybody else feel like all these injury pullouts are getting just a little bit spooky?  No?  Then just you wait until Tito Ortiz goes down with a heart murmur on the same day that Forrest Griffin is diagnosed with whooping cough.  After that there’ll be nothing left to do but sit around and wait for the swarm of locusts.