Report: Dominick Cruz injured, UFC 233 fight against John Lineker in doubt

UFC 233 has apparently taken another blow to a lineup that already lost its headliner to make the new ESPN TV debut even sweeter. The pay-per-view (PPV) event, slated for Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2019, is now possibly without perennial Bantamweight top dog Dominick Cruz, who has reportedly suffered yet another physical setback in a long, long string of injuries.

As first seen on a pair of Brazilian MMA Twitter accounts, Cruz has suffered an undisclosed injury and has had to withdraw from his upcoming bout with John Lineker. The report linked another former 135-pound champion, Cody Garbrandt, as a replacement, but that, too, is up in the air because he is still recovering from a broken hand. In fact, a separate MMAJunkie.com report more or less confirms that “No Love” would not be healthy and/or prepared for a fight until sometime around March 2019.

Without Cruz-Lineker, the best fight scheduled for UFC 233 at this time is a 170-pound scrap between former Welterweight kingpin, Robbie Lawler, who will welcome undefeated former Bellator MMA / One Championship superstar, Ben Askren, to the Octagon. Of course, fight fans — and apparently company President Dana White (details) — are waiting for Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington to both sign on the dotted line, which would be a fantastic headliner for any upcoming show.

Time will tell.