UFC Manila Event to be reschuduled after Penn's withdrawal due to injury

UFC® FIGHT NIGHT MANILA: LAMAS vs. PENN TO BE RESCHEDULED

Manila, Philippines – 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.” - BJ PENN

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 (UFC's event partner) 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 is a huge blow for UFC in the Philippines, the first UFC event that was held in the country was sold out and a clamor for a second event was in the air.

This event also marked as BJ Penn's comeback fight but his recent string of injury would put his career and health into question, however, the fact that it was rescheduled would signal at least a ray of hope for UFC fans that the organization will continue to make the Philippines as their venue of choice in Southeast Asia.

By: JM “Shady” Daguio