Next week’s UFC Fight Night 97 event cancelled Thursday the UFC released a statement explaining why next weekends UFC Fight Night 97 event in Manilla, Philippines has been cancelled. “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.” UFC Fight Night 97 took a major hit when MMA legend B.J. Penn was forced out his main event bout against Ricardo Lamas due to injury earlier this week. Sage Northcutt vs. Mickey Gall announced for UFC on FOX 22
BREAKING: @sagenorthcutt vs @mickeygall confirmed for #UFCSacramento! https://t.co/IbK5K3nmeM Pre-register ? ➡️ https://t.co/jBsAikgAWF pic.twitter.com/QNtRyQ4oSm
— #UFC204 (@ufc) October 6, 2016
UFC officials announced Thursday that Sage Northcutt will be moving back up to welterweight to take on Mickey Gall at UFC on FOX 22. Northcutt (9-1) has gone 3-1 in the UFC, including a decision victory against Enrique Marin at UFC 200 this past July. Gall (3-0) defeated Phil “CM Punk” Books with a first round submission at UFC 203. UFC on FOX 22 takes place at the Golden 1 Centerin on December 17th in Sacramento, California.