Joe Warren pulled from Saturday's Bellator 98 co-headliner

Joe Warren has been pulled from Saturday’s Bellator 98 co-headliner after being declared medically unfit to fight.

Bellator officials today announced the scratch, though details on Warren’s condition were not revealed.

Warren (8-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), a former Bellator featherweight champion who recently appeared on Bellator’s “Fight Master” reality show, was scheduled to fight Nick Kirk (10-2 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) in the opening round of Bellator’s Season 9 bantamweight tournament. Kirk also has been scratched from the lineup.

Bellator 98 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

The Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation nixed Warren’s participation.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with one of the best commissioners in the sport in Mike Mazzulli, and after carefully reviewing Joe’s medical documents, everyone agreed to err on the side of caution with the goal of ensuring our fighters safety,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. “It was determined Joe would be unable to compete this Saturday at Mohegan Sun. Joe’s been with us since the beginning, and as is the case with every fighter here, it’s incumbent on me to ensure Joe is 100 percent healthy and medically cleared to fight before he steps into the Bellator cage.”

A bout between lightweights Patricky Freire (10-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) and Derek Anderson (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has taken the open slot on the Spike TV broadcast.

The latest Bellator 98 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET)

• Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper – for middleweight title
• Andreas Spang vs. Justin Torrey – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Perry Filkins vs. Jeremy Kimball – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Mikkel Parlo vs. Brian Rogers – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Jason Butcher vs. Giva Santana – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Derek Anderson vs. Patricky Freire

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 6 p.m. ET)

• Mike Mucitelli vs. Jeff Nader
• Brennan Ward vs. Dave Vitkay
• Andrew Calandrelli vs. Ryan Quinn
• Matt Bessette vs. Nick Piedmont
• Glenn Allaire vs. Rico DiSciullo
• Josh Diekmann vs. Parker Porter

For more on Bellator 98, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Joe Warren)