Injury forces B.J. Penn out of UFC Fight Night 97 headliner

Just a little more than one week before the UFC’s return to the Philippines, the event has lost its headliner.

MMAjunkie today confirmed with a person with knowledge of the booking that B.J. Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC) has suffered an injury in training and has been forced out of a planned matchup with Ricardo Lamas (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 97. That person was not allowed to speak publicly because the withdrawal has not been formally announced.

UFC Fight Night 97 takes place Oct. 15 at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Manila, Philippines. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

More on this in just a moment.

For more on UFC Fight Night 97, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.