🚨 Injury News 🚨
Due to a medical issue with Josiah Harrell, his welterweight bout
against Jack Della Maddalena has been canceled from
#UFC290 pic.twitter.com/vbupXR7vkj— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope)
July 7, 2023
A forced fight withdrawal of a Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer might
have just saved his life.
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Last Friday, Jack
Della Maddalena (14-2) announced that his welterweight matchup
with Sean Brady
was no more, due to an illness later determined to be septic bursitis on
Brady’s elbow. A few days later, the UFC acquired the services of
Josiah
Harrell (7-0) to step in for his promotional debut, instead of
numerous names like Kevin
Holland and Joaquin
Buckley campaigning for the slot.
Following the UFC 290 weigh-ins on Friday, the results of a
pre-fight brain scan came back to determine that, per MMAJunkie,
Harrell has been diagnosed with a rare disorder called
moyamoya disease and is
out of the fight. Harrell will be undergoing surgery to address
this soon, according to his manager. This is a similar situation as „The Ultimate Fighter“ vet Vince
Murdock, who had the non-life threatening condition
corrected, and he has since returned to competition.
It is currently unclear when the promotion will schedule Maddalena
to compete again. The surging Aussie has racked up 14 straight wins
since dropping his first two as a pro. Winner of four in the UFC to
date, all by finish, 13 of his 14 victories on his way up have come
by stoppage. In 2022, his promotional debut against Pete
Rodriguez went well, and he went on to decimate Ramazan
Emeev and Danny
Roberts within one round to draw some serious focus. When he
submitted Randy Brown
in February, he emerged as a contender in the talent-rich 170-pound
division.
“Muscle Hamster” Josiah
Harrell was aiming to keep his momentum going, with seven wins
on his ledger all by stoppage since turning pro in 2020. The former
massive underdog put himself on the radar back in June, when his
Round 3 double-leg takedown of Michael
Roberts at LFA 160 sent them crashing through the cage door.
Both fighters recovered, and Harrell pounded out his foe later that
round. Per the automated Twitter account of UFC
Roster Watch that tracks fighter eligibility for rankings
consideration, Harrell is no longer a member of the UFC. Harrell’s
manager has reportedly
disputed his release.
UFC 290 will carry on with 13 fights at the T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas on July 8. The main card remains intact, with Alexander
Volkanovski looking to unify his featherweight belt against
interim titleholder Yair
Rodriguez in the headliner. The co-main sees Brandon
Moreno rematch Alexandre
Pantoja with flyweight gold on the line. Other main card tilts
include a middleweight clash between Robert
Whittaker and Dricus Du
Plessis, and a de facto 158-pound catchweight contest when the
heavy Jalin
Turner takes on Dan Hooker.