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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has scratched UFC 233, a pay-per-view event scheduled for January 26, 2019, in Anaheim, California. The event — which was expected to feature the debut of former ONE Championship and Bellator champion Ben Askren vs. former UFC champion Robbie Lawler — was formally “postponed” in a statement by the UFC.
As a result, all bouts will be rescheduled for upcoming cards.
A February 10, 2019, pay-per-view at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia will remain UFC 234: Whittaker vs. Gastelum. MMAjunkie.com states the pay-per-view was scratched “due to a series of circumstances that created difficulty building a suitable event.”
The release adds:
Here is a look at the UFC 233 lineup prior to being scratched:
- Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler
- Francisco Trinaldo vs. TBA
- Paul Felder vs. James Vick
- Yana Kunitskaya vs. Marion Reneau
- Alexandra Albu vs. Emily Whitmire
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Cortney Casey
- Alex Caceres vs. Kron Gracie
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- John Lineker vs. TBA
That leaves some pretty exciting matchups to be added to cards in the early part of 2019, so fight fans should be in for a treat.
Initially, UFC 233 was set to be headlined by a bout between UFC flyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, but the bout was bounced earlier in December to UFC on ESPN+ 1 a week earlier.
UFC 233 was also set to go head-to-head against Bellator 214, which will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California just miles from Honda Center where UFC 233 was planned.
