Joe Lauzon injured, UFC Austin co-main event with Donald Cerrone canceled last-minute (again!)

A lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone has been removed from UFC Austin later tonight (Sat., June 18, 2022) live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Per an initial report by Ariel Helwani, Lauzon’s left knee locked up after official weigh ins on Friday and the veteran never got better. Lauzon was unable to compete Saturday and it is unknown at this time when, or even if, the promotion will try to book this fight again.

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Cerrone and Lauzon were originally expected to meet at UFC 274 this past May in Phoenix, Arizona. The two lightweight veterans were gearing up for what they called a “legacy fight” and it had fight fans in a frenzy. Both fighters have struggled to capture victory inside of the Octagon of late so it was their chance to prove that something is still left in the tank.

Unfortunately, Cerrone was forced out of the fight just hours before the card started due to what doctors were calling food poisoning. “Cowboy” is one of the most game fighters in the history of the sport so for him to pull out hours before a scheduled fight meant things must have been serious. The bout was eventually rescheduled for this weekend in Austin.

“So, I’m not fighting Cowboy Cerrone tonight,” Lauzon said in a video posted to Instagram Saturday afternoon. “The freakiest, weirdest thing ever. I weigh in officially, everything’s fine, I go to sit down in the chairs where all the fighters are, and I go to put my socks on. … I turn my knee out, and my knee locks up.”

“The reason I didn’t go to weigh-ins yesterday was not because of cramps, that was kind of the story because they don’t want to sell me out,” Lauzon said. “I literally can’t put any weight on my left leg. Like, none. We tried doing an injection, tried to help it out to num it a little bit to move and manipulate it a little bit better, that didn’t help. Literally, I can’t stand.”

With the cancelation of Lauzon vs. Cerrone, UFC Austin will proceed with 13 total bouts. A bantamweight clash between Adrian Yanez and Tony Kelley has been bumped to the ESPN main card.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Austin fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET. Bet on all the UFC Austin action with our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook right here.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Austin news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Kattar vs. Emmett” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ line up click here.