Johnny Case Pulled from PFL’s Season-Opening Event After Domestic Battery Arrest

ROSTER UPDATE: @Mmartinez_alex steps in for Johnny Case at #PFL1

PFL 1 Friday, April 23
5:30P ET ESPN+ | 9P ET ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/eE4X9aSDu8

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) April 6, 2021

Alex Martinez will step in for Johnny Case and face Loik Radzhabov in a lightweight bout at the Professional Fighters League’s season premiere event on April 23.

The promotion announced the news via social media on Tuesday. Case’s removal from the card comes on the heels of his arrest for domestic battery in Las Vegas this past Thursday. TMZ Sports was first to report the news of Case’s arrest. PFL did not make mention of Case’s legal issues in its announcement.

Case released a statement via Instagram denying the allegations against him.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce I have been withdrawn from the PFL tournament,” Case wrote. “I am absolutely crushed. All of my hard work and sacrifices have been taken away [by] allegations that are not true. I want to thank the few family members and friends that have reached out to check on me. You don’t know how much that means to me.

I’m sorry to my fans and supporters. I don’t know what the future will hold for my career. I will tell my side of the story when the time is right, but right now I just want to be with my family and do what I can to get by in the meantime.”

A native of Paraguay, Martinez will make his PFL debut with a 7-0-1 record. The former Brave CF competitor has finished six of his seven triumphs inside the distance.

Radzhabov was a finalist in the 2019 PFL season, falling to Natan Schulte in the lightweight finals via unanimous decision.

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