This coming January, MMA fans were expecting to see the UFC 233 card, which was going to feature the promotional debut of Ben Askren.
However, according to a report from Brett Okamoto of ESPN, UFC 233 will no longer be happening on January 26, but at a later date that will get revealed at another time. Okamoto states that a number of factors lead to the card being called off, although he doesn’t state at this time exactly what those factors are.
Ariel Helwani of ESPN is reporting that the UFC is looking to reschedule Askren and Robbie Lawler for March.
The show was going to air opposite of Bellator 214, which is going to be headlined by the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Finals between Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko. Okamoto says that the UFC will still hold the same amount of pay-per-views in 2019 that they had in 2018, with the promotion holding 13 this year.
Other notable fighters who were expected to compete on the card include former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler, John Lineker, Paul Felder, James Vick, Yana Kunitskaya, Marion Reneau, Cynthia Calvillo and Joseph Benavidez.
There is now just one event scheduled for the UFC in January and that is UFC Fight Night Brooklyn, which is going to be headlined by a flyweight title bout between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw.
