UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has quickly addressed his sudden withdrawal from today's pay-per-view event.
The mixed martial arts leader will be staging its third numbered card of 2025 tonight, with UFC 313 going down from inside Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
While fight week was relatively drama free and saw all 24 athletes make weight, fight day has seen the card take some hits.
After John Castañeda was confirmed to be out of his early preliminary contest with Chris Gutierrez, illness struck a more notable pairing. Former interim heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes pulled out of the UFC 313 featured prelim, which was set to see him welcome newcomer Rizvan Kuniev to the Octagon.
In a post on his Facebook page, "Razor" revealed the reason behind his late decision not to compete.
"Last night I got sick with norovirus," Blaydes wrote. "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 be we will have this fight very soon."
With today's two cancellations, UFC 313 will move ahead with 10 contests.
For Curtis Blaydes, the sickness has pushed back his return to action. The American hasn't competed since a first-round knockout loss to Tom Aspinall in what marked his first title fight on MMA's biggest stage.