Off then on and now off again apparently for good, UFC Lincoln is in need of a new main event and opponent for ‘The Highlight’ Justin Gaethje.<\/p>\n
The former WSOF lightweight king, Gaethje and The Ultimate Fighter 15 finalist, Al Iaquinta were\u00a0scheduled to square off in UFC Lincoln’s headliner on August 25th. The uber\u00a0fan-friendly will now have to be put on hold as\u00a0ESPN<\/a>\u00a0is reporting that Iaquinta has pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.<\/p>\n Gaethje’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz shared his comments with ESPN confirming the news.<\/p>\n “I can’t question Al’s heart but at the end of the day, when you fight Justin, people have to think about it. I got nothing against Al, but it’s a tall order to fight Justin. When you go in there, you leave a piece of yourself in the cage. Some people don’t want to do that. If I’m a fighter I don’t want to fight that guy. I don’t know if this is a negotiation tactic from Al, but he is out.<\/em><\/p>\n For the record, he called out Justin, Justin took the fight, and then he pulled out. It’s his business. UFC will find someone else to fight Justin, and it will be an exciting fight. It doesn’t matter who fights Justin, it could be a chair in there, it will be exciting.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Who will replace Iaquinta remains unknown for the time being. However, Ariel Helwani followed up with reports that Kevin Lee was reached out to to fill in only to decline.\u00a0Meanwhile, David Teymur has come forward asking for the fight.<\/p>\n UFC offered the Justin Gaethje fight to Kevin Lee, sources say, however, I'm told Lee declined the opportunity because he wanted more time to train for his next fight. Lee is hoping to return to action later this year.<\/p>\n — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 28, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n