UFC Fight Night will be without one Mass. native in the co-main event.
In what feels like a forbidden fruit of a fight, the lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon has been canceled for the June 18 card in Austin, Texas at Moody Center. This is the third time the fight has been moved.
The two veteran fighters were originally scheduled to fight on April 30, but the date was moved due to undisclosed reasons. It was then rescheduled for May 7 in Phoenix, but Cerrone fell ill on the morning of the fight, and the bout was canceled. Now, Lauzon — a Bridgewater, Mass. resident — had to withdraw because of a non-weight-cut-related medical issue, per the UFC via ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
“So I’m not fighting Cowboy Cerrone tonight,” Lauzon said on Instagram. “The freakiest weirdest thing ever: I weigh-in officially, I got sit down, and I got to put my socks on, I turn my knee out, and my knee locks out.
“I’ve dealt with meniscus injuries on both knees, but this knee in particular, had it cleaned out a bunch of times, but when it does lock up, I can usually straighten out, it unlocks, totally fine, 100 percent, immediately. This time, I’m now surrounded by all the fighters, commission, Cowboy’s in the room, I’m trying not to make a scene and let people know there’s not a problem with my knee. Eventually, I end up hopping on one of my cornerman’s back, acted like I was choking him like we were joking, but I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t walk at all.”
Fight fans will lose what was expected to be an exciting contest between fighters who always deliver a memorable performance. Cerrone entered the bout as a -165 favorite over Lauzon (+140), according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
The welterweight bout between Tim Means and Kevin Holland will take over the co-main event slot. In the main event, Methuen, Mass. native Calvin Kattar will take on Josh Emmett in the featherweight division. “The Boston Finisher” heads into the bout as a -240 favorite over Emmett with a featherweight title shot likely on the line for the winner.
The main card starts at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
