Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis suffered yet another setback in his PFL career, withdrawing from the PFL 4 lineup due to illness. “Showtime” was scheduled to face Alexander Martinez tomorrow night (June 10) on ESPN2 from Atlantic City.
That’s according to Ag Fight.
As a result, defending PFL lightweight champion Natan Schulte will step in to face the undefeated Martinez on super short notice. Pettis is expected to make a quick recovery and return against Raush Manfio at the PFL 6 event on June 25.
Schulte (20-4-1) is looking to rebound from his opening round loss to Marcin Held. Martinez (8-0), meanwhile, captured a split-decision victory over Loik Radzhabov at PFL 1 back in April. A loss for Schulte will boot him from the lightweight tournament.
The PFL 2021 season took another big hit just a few days back. Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was forced to withdraw from the tourney due to injury, while Mohammed Usman also hit the showers after getting hurt.
Pettis, 34, dropped his PFL debut to Clay Collard last April.