Islam Makhachev has released a statement after pulling out of his UFC Vegas 14 main event against Rafael dos Anjos.
On Sunday, it was revealed the Russian was forced out of the fight and he later took to Instagram to explain why.
“The only thing that calms down is that we cannot get away from what has been prescribed,” Makhachev wrote. “A lot of time and effort was spent on this fight, I was in peak shape, but as soon as I started to lose weight and the immune system began to weaken, I caught an infection that would incapacitate me for at least a month in this camp, our team had already encountered this infection more than once and many had to cancel your fights. This year was difficult for my career, a lot of fights were canceled but I promise you I will go all the way to this belt no matter what it takes.”
This was set to be Islam Makhachev’s biggest and toughest test to date. If he got past dos Anjos, he would’ve likely been fighting a top-five guys next. Unfortunately, that will no longer be the case and when and who he will return against is uncertain at this point.
