TUF 5 veteran Noah Thomas will step up on short notice to replace the injured Eddie Wineland against Frank Gomez at WEC 41. The news comes courtesy of Matt E. over at NWI. Wineland was forced off the card with a right elbow injury leaving Thomas to attempt to become the first man to notch a victory over the undefeated Gomez.

Thomas, who was last seen being kicked off of TUF 5 for his role in a backyard brawl, seems to feel pressure to redeem himself and prove that he's not a bad guy.

"I think the pressure's on Frank right now to get that win," Thomas told NWI. "But it's on me, of course, to get that win because this is a huge opportunity for me that they've allowed me to come back and try to redeem myself. The pressure is on both (of us). We both want to win. We both want to perform. We both want to show the WEC why we're here and what we can do."

Thomas also added that he doesn't want to be classified in the same catagory as a Junie Browning-type TUF bad boy.

"I made a mistake, ya know? Everybody slips and trips and falls, but I'm gonna get back up and I'm trying to repair that damage," Thomas said. "Was it the wrong thing to do? In many ways. I don't want to be classified in that Junie Browning-type group. I go to a gym that has little kids that go there - I need to set the example for those little kids on how to act and how to conduct yourselves as a professional, not as some street thug or punk. More than anything else, that opened up my eyes. That one moment in time is not who I am."

WEC 41 airs live on Versus beginning at 9 pm EST on June 7 and features the highly anticipated rematch between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber.

Click here for the updated event card.