Jodie Esquibel vs. Jessica Penne Pulled from UFC on ESPN 1 Card

A preliminary strawweight clash pitting Jodie Esquibel against Jessica Penne has been removed from the UFC on ESPN 1 lineup.

Penne missed weight by two pounds on Saturday, but according to a statement released by the Las Vegas-based promotion, it was an injury resulted in her being pulled from the card. As a result, Sunday’s card will proceed with 12 bouts. UFC on ESPN 1 takes place at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Glendale, Ariz., and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Cain Velasquez and Francis Ngannou. The card airs on ESPN following early prelims on ESPN+; Esquibel vs. Penne was scheduled for the ESPN+ preliminary bill, which will now begin at 6 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

This marks the second time Esquibel has had a fight canceled on the day of the event. A proposed clash with Jessica Aguilar at UFC Fight Night 131 this past June was scrapped due to medical issues involving Aguilar. Esquibel is still looking for her first Octagon triumph after dropping unanimous decisions to Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Aguilar in her first two promotional appearances.

Penne, meanwhile was set to return following an 18-month USADA suspension for a banned substance. The former Invicta atomweight champion has lost successive fights to Danielle Taylor, Jessica Andrade and Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a slump that dates back to June 2015.

Update: Penne revealed on Instagram that she suffered a sprained ankle while doing some drills on Sunday morning that forced her to withdraw from the fight.

View this post on Instagram

I don’t have a lot of words to describe my emotions at the moment. I want to apologize to my opponent @jodieesquibel and her camp for this fight not happening today. I’m truly very sorry Jodie. I went to do a small shakeout this morning and was working some basic drills when I rolled my ankle with the full weigh of my body and my training partners. I immediately iced it and was hoping that it wouldn’t be that bad but it became obvious very quickly that this was a bad sprain. The ufc medical team along with Sean Shelby came to my room and the decision was made along with my team that I couldn’t fight. I have a grade 2 sprain and will know more after x-rays. I’m heart broken and I know Jodie must be as well. Hopefully Jodie and I can be rebooked ASAP. Thank you to everyone for the support, it means more than you know.

A post shared by Jessica Penne (@jessicapenne) on Feb 17, 2019 at 1:41pm PST