Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has canceled its entire UFC Fight Night 97 mixed martial arts (MMA) event on UFC Fight Pass, scheduled for Oct. 15, 2016 inside SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

That’s because of Monday’s injury to headliner BJ Penn.

“I suffered a rib injury in training and I apologize to the fans in Manila who were expecting to watch me compete," Penn said in today’s release. “I hope to be back in the Octagon soon.”

UFC “Manila” joins UFC 151 and UFC 176 on the not-so-prestigious list of axed events.

With the event scrapped, the remaining fighters (full list here) will be paid their “show” money and rebooked for future events; however, the UFC calendar is complete for the remainder of 2016 (see it here), so it may be tough to accommodate each and every combatant.

As for the city of Manila?

“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.

Fight fans can seek refunds at their original point of purchase.


Source: http://www.mmamania.com/2016/10/6/13189 ... manila-mma