What is arguably the biggest MMA card of the year to date has been hit by late misfortune.
On Saturday, it was announced that UFC 313 had been rocked by two last-minute fight cancellations.
Long-time heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes issued a statement explaining why he withdrew from his fight with promotional newcomer Rizvan Kuniev – but there’s been nothing from bantamweight star John Castaneda after his scrap with Chris Gutiérrez was also called off.
According to Joe Rogan, Blaydes and Castenada are the latest victims of an illness ravaging the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
Joe Rogan reveals major UFC PI issue
Due to all the drama, UFC 313 got underway more than an hour later than it was originally expected to.
When it did, Rogan and his commentary partners, Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, immediately addressed the ‘crazy’ events that saw two fighters drop off the card just hours before it got underway.
The UFC’s longest-serving commentator explained how they fell ill so close to fight night.
“It’s a bummer,” Rogan said.
“Apparently, there’s something going around the UFC PI.
“We’ve been hearing about a lot of guys getting sick.
“Very unfortunate, but we still have 10 great fights.”
Updated UFC 313 fight card
- Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev
- Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev
- Jalin Turnervs vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
- Amanda Lemos vs Iasmin Lucindo
- King Green vs Maurício Ruffy
- Joshua Van vs Rei Tsuruya
- Brunno Ferreira vs Armen Petrosyan
- Alex Morono vs Carlos Leal
- Mairon Santos vs Francis Marshall
- Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos vs Ozzy Diaz