Following B.J. Penn pulling out of next week’s UFC Fight Night 97 main event due to a rib injury, the UFC has canceled the event scheduled to take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
The UFC announced the fight card being canceled in a press release on Thursday and the complete press release is below.
UFC® announced today that it will reschedule its UFC Fight Night event planned for Oct. 15 in Manila, Philippines due to the loss of the main event. Former UFC champion BJ Penn was forced to withdraw from the main event bout with Ricardo Lamas due to injury.
“I suffered a rib injury in training and I apologize to the fans in Manila who were expecting to watch me compete,” Penn said. “I hope to be back in the Octagon soon.”
Athletes scheduled to compete on the Oct. 15 card will be rebooked at upcoming UFC events in the near future. Each athlete set to compete on Oct. 15 will 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.
With UFC Fight Night 97 being canceled, the next UFC fight card after this weekend’s UFC 204 will be The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale on November 5 in Mexico City.