Report: John Lineker forced out of Jimmie Rivera fight at UFC 219 with tooth infection

The replacement now needs a replacement.

UFC 219 suffered a major blow one week from fight night, as John Lineker has been forced out of his Bantamweight scrap against Jimmie Rivera, which was one of the featured bouts for the upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 30, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to MMA Fighting, Lineker is suffering from a bad tooth infection that will require emergency surgery and is unable to compete next Saturday night. John had stepped up to face Rivera after Jimmie’s original opponent, Dominick Cruz, bowed out with an injury.

Now word yet if “El Terror” will get a last-second fill in or be out of the card altogether.

UFC 219 will be headlined by a women’s Featherweight title fight between division champion Cris Cyborg taking on Holly Holm. In the co-main event of the evening, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edson Barboza will tango in a crucial Lightweight scrap.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 219: “Cyborg vs Holm” click here.