The UFC on ESPN+ 12 co-main event rematch between John Lineker and Rob Font was canceled on Friday after Lineker was scratched because of a last-minute injury.
Lineker’s manager confirmed to ESPN that his fighter had been pulled from the fight after suffering a cut over his eye while cutting weight on Thursday. Details of how the injury occurred were scarce, but Lineker apparently attempted to get the cut glued shut at the hospital, but ultimately opted to withdraw.
Font was originally scheduled to fight Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN+ 12. Lineker stepped in on a couple weeks notice after Stamann withdrew because of an injury.
Lineker won the first fight with Font at UFC 198 in May 2016 via a unanimous decision. He’d been hoping to bring the fight to a more definitive finish this time around, while Font was hoping to avenge that defeat and build some momentum after having defeated Sergio Pettis in his last outing. Neither will be granted the opportunity. At least, not at UFC on ESPN+ 12.
TRENDING > Jon Jones dishes managerial advice to younger UFC fighters
UFC officials had yet to comment on Lineker’s withdrawal at the time of publication, and had yet to announce whether it was possible to keep Font on the card with a new opponent, which seems unlikely.
MMAWeekly.com will have full UFC on ESPN+ 12 live results on Saturday, June 22, from Greenville, S.C., beginning at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET. The fight card is headlined by a five-round featherweight contenders bout between Renato Moicano and Chan Sung Jung (aka the Korean Zombie).
