Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel will not be happening tonight (Feb. 17).
UFC on ESPN 1 takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona tonight. One bout that was supposed to take place on the ESPN+ portion of the prelims was Penne vs. Esquibel.
Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel Off UFC on ESPN 1 Card
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani took to Twitter to reveal that sources have told him that Penne vs. Esquibel is no longer on tonight’s card:
Tonight’s Jodie Esquibel vs. Jessica Penne fight has been canceled, according to multiple sources. Penne missed weight yesterday by two pounds, but it is unclear at this time if the fight was removed from the card due to that reason.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 17, 2019
As Helwani mentioned, Penne weighed in at 118 pounds during the weigh-ins. The reasoning for the cancellation isn’t clear despite many already pointing to Penne’s scale fail as the culprit. In the past, we’ve seen fighters miss weight but wider margins yet those bouts went on. We’ll update you on the reasoning when that bit of news becomes available.
UFC on ESPN 1 will be headlined by a heavyweight clash between Cain Velasquez and Francis Ngannou. The co-main event will see lightweights Paul Felder and James Vick collide. MMA News will be providing you live coverage of the event. We’ve got you covered with live results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits. Be sure to stick with us throughout the night for all the UFC on ESPN 1 news that you need.