PRIDE and UFC veteran Marcus Aurelio (20-8) today said that an elbow injury he sustained two weeks ago will keep him from fighting in Shine Fights' single-night eight-man tournament on Friday in Newkirk, Okla.

And while he's keeping his fingers crossed that he'll be able to meet an obligation to fight Shinya Aoki at DREAM.16 on Sept. 25, it all depends on whether his injury subsides enough to fight.

"Right now, it looks like I can't fight a girl," he told MMAjunkie.

Shine officials today made Aurelio's withdrawal ofacficial and announced UFC vet Shannon Gugerty (12-5) as a replacement.

"I am sad to see Marcus pull out of the tournament and wish him a fast recovery," Shine COO Jason Chambers stated in today's release.

Aurelio said Shine officials were in the know about his injury for the past two weeks and sought a doctor's opinion on whether he could fight at the Sept. 10 event. The doctor advised against it, but Aurelio asked for and received a cortisone shot to alleviate the problem...

Aurelio cites injury for Shine Fights tourney scratch, Gugerty replaces