Christmas has come early this year for Efrain Escudero (Pictured). On Tuesday afternoon, it was announced “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ winner will be granted another shot in the big leagues.

Escudero will replace an injured TJ Grant and face Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141 on December 30th.

Escudero was submitted by then-undefeated Charles Oliviera at “UFC Fight Night 22” in his last Octagon appearance. The September 2010 defeat dropped his UFC record to 3-2, which prompted his release from the world’s premier MMA organization.

The 25-year-old went on to post an impressive 5-1 mark following his unexpected firing. Escudero was slated to meet Jeff Rexroad at next week’s “Legacy Fighting Championship 9″ event on HDNet. However, pulling out of the scrap for another opportunity in the UFC was a no-brainer.

UFC 141 takes place inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here is the card’s updated roster:

Preliminary Bouts:

Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

Luis Ramos vs Matt Riddle

Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkmann

Sean Pierson vs. Dong Hyun Kim

(Spike TV 9PM ET/6PM PT)

Ramsey Nijem vs. Anthony Njokuani

Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao

Main Bouts:

(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)

Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks

Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz

Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar