Curtis Blaydes has addressed the concerning reason behind why he had to pull out of his fight at UFC 313.
The American was scheduled to return to the cage, in just a matter of hours, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
While Blaydes confessed he had to Google his opponent, Rizvan Kuniev, before accepting the fight, the match-up still would’ve provided him with an opportunity to bounce back following his first-round defeat to Tom Aspinall back in July.
Alas, he’ll have to wait for his return to the octagon, as he’s been struck down by a nasty illness.
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Curtis Blaydes pulled out of UFC 313, because of norovirus
Over the winter months, norovirus has spread around the USA, with the bug causing violent bouts of vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.
With that in mind, few would advise somebody struggling with it to set foot in a cage and fight.
Unfortunately, Curtis Blaydes confirmed that he has indeed contracted norovirus, and because of that, he couldn’t compete.
In a post uploaded to his Facebook page, the 34-year-old said: “Last night I got sick with norovirus. Worked through the night to try and recover, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. Fight going to be booked for a later date. Apologize to fans and my opponent, but we will have this fight very soon.”
Curtis Blaydes vs Rizvan Kuniev isn’t the only fight UFC 313 has lost
Having compiled an impressive resume, Blaydes was a good name to have on tonight’s card.
Therefore, losing him was anything but ideal.
However, that’s not the only issue the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization has had to deal with.
Sadly, UFC 313 has lost another fight.