UFC 288 is down a man.
Jonathan Pearce has withdrawn from his featherweight bout scheduled for the May 6 pay-per-view card due to injury. A search is currently underway to find a replacement fighter to take on Bryce Mitchell at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Two people with knowledge of the situation Thursday confirmed the news to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The Fight Analyst first reported the withdrawal.
Prior to pulling out, Pearce (14-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was aligned for his first UFC-ranked opponent. Since he moved to featherweight for his second UFC fight in 2020, Pearce has won five in a row, including a bloody unanimous decision win over Darren Elkins in December.
Should he remain on the card, Mitchell (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will look to rebound from his first UFC loss, a second-round submission defeat to Ilia Topuria at UFC 282 in December.
With the change, the UFC 288 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
- Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush
- Bryce Mitchell vs. TBA
- Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Rolando Bedoya vs. Khaos Williams
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Johnny Munoz vs. Daniel Santos
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Armen Petrosyan vs. TBA
- Devin Clark vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
- Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
- Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribeiro
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Phil Hawes
- Parker Porter vs. Braxton Smith
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.