Jonathan Pearce has withdrawn from his UFC 288 featherweight matchup against Bryce Mitchell due to an undisclosed injury, with the promotion seeking a replacement opponent.
UFC 288 has experienced a setback with the cancellation of one of the event’s main card bouts. Jonathan Pearce is out of his scheduled featherweight matchup with Bryce Mitchell due to an undisclosed injury. Pearce’s withdrawal from the contest was first reported by Fight Analyst LLC on Twitter.
A person with knowledge of the situation has disclosed that the promotion is working on a replacement opponent for Mitchell for the May 6 pay-per-view event in Newark, N.J., but nothing has been finalized as of yet. The injury comes at a challenging time for Pearce, as he was preparing for his highest-profile fight to date. “JSP” has won five straight bouts, including stoppage victories over Kai Kamaka III, Omar Morales, and Makwan Amirkhani, along with a pair of decision wins over Christian Rodriguez and Darren Elkins.
On the other hand, Mitchell aims to recover from his first professional loss – a second-round submission – to Ilia Topuria at December’s UFC 282 event, putting an end to “Thug Nasty’s” 15-fight winning streak.