A week ago, it was announced that UFC 230 will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis. Both men, however, have respective health issues to deal with.
Cormier, for one, admitted that his right hand is still “not 100 percent” healed after he injured it at UFC 226 against Stipe Miocic.
“It’s good enough to fight,” Cormier said on The MMA Hour on Monday. “It’s not 100 percent, I’m going to be honest. My fist is closing but not all the way. It feels like now I have like a badly jammed finger. Like, it feels like my finger’s just jammed really badly right now.”
In line with this, the New York State Athletic Commission stated that it may require additional testing for both fighters ahead of their November 3rd fight at Madison Square Garden.
“Our medical team may require additional medical checks for any specific fighter when warranted, and they do,” Commission spokesperson Lee Park wrote in an email to MMAjunkie.
As for Lewis, Park pointed out the reduction of his medical suspension from a month to three weeks, which they asked for some paperwork for.
“He challenged his medical suspension in Nevada, an action permitted in pretty much all jurisdictions. Nevada then reduced his suspension to three weeks instead of one month,” Park wrote. “In light of this, NYSAC has asked for all new medical documentation to prove his fitness to be licensed in New York State.”
The NYSAC has been stringent in terms of their medical procedures and giving out clearances to fighters. In 2016, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was denied a license to fight at UFC 205 due to a failed medical test. Former UFC strawweight Pearl Gonzalez also had issues with the NYSAC at UFC 210 in April of last year, when she was almost pulled from her fight against Cynthia Calvillo for having breast implants.