The Noche UFC main card has taken a hit.
For the third year in a row, the UFC is set to host Noche UFC, a special event that celebrates the Mexican fighting spirit during Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Brazilian contenders Diego Lopes and Jean Silva are set to headline Sept. 13 in San Antonio, Texas, featuring a number of Mexican fighters and fighters of Mexican descent on the undercard.
Two fighters recently withdrew from the card with Alden Coria replacing an injured Edgar Chairez and a former champion suffering a similar fate.
- READ MORE: ‘Unreal’ … UFC’s newest fighter Alden Coria reacts to short notice Noche UFC debut in home state
Raquel Pennington pulls out of her first fight ever at Noche UFC
Up until last October, Raquel Pennington was the UFC women’s bantamweight champion of the world.
Pennington, 36, lost her title in a very controversial split decision against Julianna Pena in the co-main event of UFC 307.
Ranked #2, ‘Rocky’ was initially set to return in a top contender fight against the #4-ranked Norma Dumont on the main card of Noche UFC, however, a preexisting neck injury ultimately forced Pennington to pull out of the bout.
“This one’s hard to say… I’ve been with the UFC for 12 years, 26 fights, and I’ve never had to pull out of a fight,” Pennington wrote on Instagram.
“I’ve been dealing with a neck injury for a while now. My last fight camp, I had a procedure in September just to get through it and step in that Octagon the beginning of October. This camp… it’s just been one thing after another.
“I’m a competitor through and through, but I also have to take care of my health if I want to keep doing this the right way,” Pennington continued.
“So yeah… I’m gutted to say I have to withdraw from this fight. Apologies to the fans, @ufc and my opponent @norma_dumont_mma I’ll be back, and I still would love to share that Octagon with Norma when the time’s right. I’m hoping she gets a replacement opponent and her opportunity to compete isn’t stripped.
“Thank you to everyone who rides with me through the highs and the lows. It means more than you know. Setbacks don’t break me — they build me,” Pennington added.
UFC releases poster for Noche UFC
We got a new look at this year’s Noche UFC.
Last year’s poster saw Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko facing off behind the Las Vegas Sphere.
The poster for Noche UFC 3 featured headliners Diego Lopes and Jean Silva facing each other with no Sphere to be found, just elements of Mexico, such as an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus biting a snake.
Two ‘charros’ or Mexican cowboys can also be seen on the poster, right above Silva and Lopes.