Al Iaquinta also injured, fight pulled from UFC 159 lineup

A day after UFC officials announced an injury had forced lightweight Joe Proctor (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) off this month’s UFC 159 card, his opponent, Al Iaquinta (5-2-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), also has scratched with an injury.

UFC officials said no replacements will be sought, and the event will go on with 12 bouts instead of 13.

UFC 159 takes place April 27 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card, including a headliner between light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Iaquinta vs. Proctor was slated for the Facebook prelims.

The nature of Iaquinta’s injury wasn’t revealed.

On Thursday a handful of fighters campaigned for the open slot. Conor McGregor, who made a successful promotional debut this past weekend, was the most vocal. The featherweight wanted to move up to lightweight and get his second UFC fight in just three weeks.

The latest UFC 159 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen – for light-heavyweight title
• Alan Belcher vs. Michael Bisping
• Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson
• Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
• Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Johnny Bedford vs. Erik Perez
• Ovince St. Preux vs. Gian Villante
• Sheila Gaff vs. Sara McMann
• Rustam Khabilov vs. Yancy Medeiros

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Leonard Garcia vs. Cody McKenzie
• Nick Catone vs. James Head
• Kurt Holobaugh vs. Steven Siler

For more on UFC 159, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Al Iaquinta)