LAS VEGAS — The “Blessed Era” will have to be put on hold for now.
UFC featherweight champion Max “Blessed” Holloway is expected to withdraw from his UFC 226 title fight against Brian Ortega after experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
Holloway’s management team released a statement to ESPN announcing Holloway’s withdrawal.
Breaking: Max Holloway is out of UFC 226. Here is a statement from his management team, exclusive to ESPN. More coming shortly. pic.twitter.com/PO4Zm0DeBC
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 5, 2018
Holloway made an appearance during open workouts on Wednesday at the MGM Grand, but physically looked off during his performance.
Max Holloway is reportedly withdrawing from UFC 226. He looked a little off physically during open workouts on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/sTHIyHhKx3
— NESN (@NESN) July 5, 2018
Holloway was forced to withdraw from his UFC 223 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in April due to weight-cutting issues, but Holloway’s withdrawal from UFC 226 stems from different reasons.
Worth noting: per multiple sources very close to Holloway, this had nothing to do with a weight cut gone wrong. He hadn’t even started the weight cut when he was rushed to the hospital Monday night. This isn’t 223 all over again, sources say.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 5, 2018
It’s not certain whether Ortega will fight Saturday night now that Holloway will not be defending the featherweight belt.
Holloway has won 12 consecutive fights and last defended his belt at UFC 218, where he defeated Jose Aldo for a second time via knockout.
