Brian Foster and Ramsey Nijem are withdrawn from the PFL playoffs

The two former UFC fighters have been taken out of the PFL playoff picture, and will be potentially replaced by two other former UFC fighters.

The Professional Fighters League (formerly WSOF) was struck with some unfortunate news on Monday when two key players in their lightweight division were forced out.

Brian Foster and Ramsey Nijem have been forced to withdraw for different(ish) reasons (via MMA Fighting).

MMA Fighting confirmed with league officials that Foster and Nijem have been forced to withdraw from the current season. Foster didn’t receive a license to compete from the athletic commission, and Ramsey wasn’t cleared by a physician after being placed on medical suspension following his loss to Foster at PFL 2 on June 21.

Foster had a solid UFC run at welterweight, debuting with an action packed bout with Rick Story at UFC 103, and finishing his octagon stay with wins over Forrest Petz and Matt Brown.

His departure from the organization was a bit confusing. Training resulted in a burst testicle, which then revealed a brain hemorrhage during a pre-fight MRI. It’s been an unfortunate series of events for a quality fighter with a fascinating story.

Nijem himself was a quality young fighter. Foster and Nijem fought back in June in a spirited affair that ended with Foster sequencing a spinning back kick into a flying knee into ground and pound just 32 seconds into the third round.

Thiago Tavares will be one of their replacements. The other will be one of Jason High or Johnny Case, who fight this Thursday at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey for PFL 7.