UFC Fight Night 97 to be rescheduled following injury to B.J. Penn
The UFC will not be returning to the Philippines this month.
According to a report from FloCombat, the UFC will re-schedule UFC Fight Night 97, which was expected to go down on October 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines.
UFC officials would later confirm the reports.
This announcement comes just two days after it was revealed headliner B.J. Penn suffered an injury in training camp, forcing him off the card entirely. The UFC Hall of Famer was scheduled to square off against former title challenger Ricardo Lamas.
“I suffered a rib injury in training and I apologize to the fans in Manila who were expecting to watch me compete,” Penn told UFC.com. “I hope to be back in the Octagon soon.”
Penn’s (16-10-2), who is one of only two fighters to win UFC titles in two different weight classes, has not competed since suffering a third round TKO to Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale in 2014.
His opponent, Lamas (15-4) was looking to get back into the win column after suffering a decision loss to Max Holloway at UFC 199. Prior to this setback, ‘The Bully’ earned a dominant decision over longtime UFC veteran Diego Sanchez at the TUF Latin America 3 Finale in November. This performance helped him rebound from a third round TKO loss to Chad Mendes last April.
Athletes scheduled to fight on the card will be rebooked at upcoming UFC events in the near future. Each athlete swill also receive compensation due to the card being rescheduled. With its 2016 calendar finalized, UFC officials will discuss future dates for the event.
“SMLEI and UFC will continue to work together in the future to deliver exciting live events for fans,” Edgar Tejerero, President of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. said.
Fans who have purchased tickets to the event should seek refunds at the point of purchase.
This event becomes just the third fight card in the promotion’s history to be scrapped. UFC 151 was previously cancelled after Jon Jones refused accept a late notice replacement after his original opponent Dan Henderson was pulled from the card after sustained a partial rupture of his MCL. UFC 176 was also shelved after then champion Jose Aldo was removed from the main event with an injury.
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