Jimmie Rivera can’t catch a break.
Rivera was initially set to take on former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title holder Dominick Cruz on Saturday night (Dec. 30). Cruz suffered a shoulder injury and was removed from the card. As a result, John Lineker stepped in as a replacement.
MMAFighting.com reports that Lineker is off the UFC 219 card for undisclosed reasons. A replacement search is underway. Mike Bohn reached out to Rivera for comments and he had the following to say:
“My wife and I aren’t celebrating Christmas with our families because of the fight.”
You can see the tweet below:
Jimmie Rivera tells me Lineker withdrawal news came through the pipeline as he's en route to Las Vegas: "My wife and I aren't celebrating Christmas with our families because of the fight."
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) December 24, 2017