Lightweights Al Iaquinta, Joe Proctor Injured, Pulled from Planned UFC 159 Showdown

UFC officials announced the news Friday, revealing that the April 27 bill will move forward minus the lightweight bout. The pay-per-view event takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and is headlined by a light heavyweight title collision between reigning champion Jon Jones and former two-time middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen.

Iaquinta fought his way to the finals of “TUF 15,” only to succumb to a Michael Chiesa rear-naked choke at the live finale last June. The setback marked the second straight defeat for the 25-year-old New Yorker, who began his career with a record of 5-0-1 before being handed his first loss by UFC vet Pat Audinwood under the Ring of Combat banner.

Proctor, meanwhile, earned a victory at the “TUF 15” finale, finishing Jeremy Larsen with a first-round technical knockout. The 27-year-old would see a four-fight winning streak halted in his next outing, however, as the Massachusetts native was outpointed by “TUF 13” finalist Ramsey Nijem on Dec. 8 at UFC on Fox 5.