The gun was jumped (yet again).
Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier and red-hot 155-pound contender Benoit Saint-Denis are no longer fighting in the upcoming UFC 299 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, scheduled for Sat., March 9, 2024 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Poirier spilled the tea earlier today on his Twitter account.
This marks the second major fight UFC announced — then canceled — over the last few weeks. The UFC Atlantic City headliner between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque was recently scratched and it was later revealed that contracts were never signed.
Saint-Denis (13-1, 1 NC) stumbled in his Octagon debut, losing a decision to Brazilian banger Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC 267. Undaunted, the all-action Parisian rattled off five straight wins including his UFC 295 knockout over lightweight veteran Matt Frevola.
As for Poirier (29-8, 1 NC), he’s looking to rebound from a knockout loss to longtime nemesis Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. “The Diamond” has been a PPV mainstay for the last four years, defeating the likes of Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, among others.
“There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced and we couldn’t come to terms,” Poirier told Ariel Helwani.
No word yet on what the promotion plans to do with the vacant UFC 299 co-main event.
UFC 299 will be headlined by the bantamweight title fight featuring Sean O’Malley in his first 135-pound title defense (and UFC 252 rematch) against Marlon Vera. Elsewhere on the card, welterweights Gilbert Burns and Jack Della Maddalena hook ‘em up at 170 pounds.
For the latest UFC 299 fight card and PPV lineup click here.