Las Vegas, NV – UFC 282 took another hit on Monday morning when former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler was forced to withdraw from his bout against Santiago Ponzinibbio due to an undisclosed injury.
ESPN was the first to report the news.
No word on what injury Lawler has suffered nor how long he will be out has been released as of this post.
The UFC is now looking for a replacement for Ponzinibbio on a week’s notice.
Lawler (29-16) was coming off a loss to Bryan Barberena at UFC 276 in July. He was looking to fight in just his second bout of 2022 before the injury forced his withdrawal.
Ponzinibbio (28-6) is looking to rebound from a two-fight losing skid. After missing over two years of action due to injuries the Argentinian welterweight contender has lost quite a bit of momentum and was looking to get back on track against Lawler.
UFC 282 also lost it’s main event when Jiri Prochazka withdrew due to a shoulder injury. The now former light heavyweight champion vacated his title, but took to social media to say that he would be back in 6 months and not the year-long wait that had been expected.
Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev will now battle for the vacant 205 title as the main event in Las Vegas on Dec.10th.
