UFC Cancels Oct. 15 Fight Night Event in Manila After B.J. Penn Injury

The UFC Fight Night card scheduled for Oct. 15 in Manila has been canceled after main event competitor B.J. Penn was forced to withdraw from the event 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 in a release. “I hope to be back in the Octagon soon.”

Penn was expected to face Ricardo Lamas in the featherweight headliner, but rumors of his impending withdrawal arrived earlier this week. Penn announced that he was coming out of retirement earlier this year, but sexual assault allegations, an anti-doping violation and now, injury, have delayed his return.

Other fighters slated to compete at UFC Fight Night 97 will be rebooked at upcoming events in the “near future.” They will also receive compensation due to the cancellation, according to the promotion. Fans who purchased tickets should seek refunds at the point of purchase.

The UFC’s 2016 calendar is already finalized, but promotion officials will look at rescheduling an event in Manila in the future, according to a release.

The lineup for UFC Fight Night 97 fight card prior to its cancellation was as follows:

Ricardo Lamas vs. TBD
Derrick Lewis vs. Marcin Tybura
Jenel Lausa vs. Zhikui Yao
Mizuto Hirota vs. Cole Miller
Sam Alvey vs. Alex Nicholson
Jon Tuck vs. Alex Volkanovski
Ryan Janes vs. Dongi Yang
Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor
James Moontasri vs. Alex Morono
Ali Bagautinov vs. Kyoji Horiguchi