It’s heartbreaking for me not to be there
fight week in Vegas but thankfully my covid 19 symptoms haven’t
been too bad so far. Wishing you all love and safety during this
pandemic. pic.twitter.com/g7YSELZYuH— Aiemann Zahabi (@Aiemannzahabi)
December 17, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The year-end
Ultimate Fighting Championship event keeps taking hits on fight
week. Aiemann
Zahabi (7-2) posted on Twitter
on Thursday to announce his withdrawal from
UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19, stating that a positive
COVID-19 test is the reason for him pulling out. He was originally
slated to face Drako
Rodriguez (7-1) at bantamweight, but the matchup has been
scuttled altogether, per TSN.
“Hey everyone,” Zahabi said
on Twitter. “I’ve got some pretty devastating news for myself and
for those who wanted to watch me fight on Saturday. For my
pre-flight COVID-19 test, I ended up getting a positive result and
I ended up getting sick for a couple of days. So I was not able to
fly out to Las Vegas to compete this Saturday, Dec. 19. But, please
guys, enjoy the show, I’m gonna hopefully get this COVID-19 out of
my system soon and get a quick turnaround for the fight. And I
really appreciate if you guys can stick with me for the upcoming
fight that I will have after this one. Thank you.”
Zahabi was aiming to make his first appearance in over 19 months,
as he last competed at UFC Fight Night 151 in May 2019 against
Vince
Morales. The loss to Morales was his second in a row, as he was
previously knocked out in 2017 by a spinning back elbow from
Ricardo
Ramos. Before the setbacks, Zahabi started his career off at a
perfect 7-0. He brought six victories into his signing with the
promotion, with six first-round stoppages to his credit. Since
then, all three of his bouts have reached the third round.
Rodriguez will have to wait a while longer to make his UFC debut,
as he earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in September. His
performance a first-round technical submission of Leomana
Martinez, “The Great Drakolini” advanced his career finish rate
to 86 percent with the win. Before his DWCS appearance, Rodriguez
spent the entirety of his pro career in the King of the Cage organization.
UFC Fight Night 183 will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Dec. 19, where it will be capped off by a welterweight battle
between Stephen
Thompson and Geoff Neal.
Drawing the co-main assignment is Jose Aldo
against Marlon Vera
at bantamweight, and another key main card bout is a 170-pound
sure-fire banger between Kalinn
Williams and Michel
Pereira.
