A bout between a pair of veteran lightweights is off.
Bobby Green is out of his fight with Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 96 on Oct. 1 in Portland, Green's manager Jason House confirmed Friday with MMA Fighting. Green is having some personal issues at the moment and has to "take care of things for his family," per House.
MMAjunkie was the first to report the news. The UFC will attempt to look for a new opponent for Burkman.
House said Green hopes to be back before the end of this year or in early 2017.
Green (23-7) has had a tough stretch. He lost by first-round knockout to Dustin Poirier at UFC 199 in June in his first bout back from knee surgery. Before that, he fell by unanimous decision to Edson Barboza in November 2014. Prior to the Barboza loss, Green, 30, had won seven in a row and was one of the hottest names in the lightweight division.
Burkman (28-13) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Paul Felder in May. He's 1-1 since moving down from welterweight to lightweight.
UFC Fight Night 96 is headlined by a bantamweight contender bout between sluggers John Lineker and John Dodson. In the co-main event, Will Brooks takes on Alex Oliveira.