UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has been forced to withdraw from a defence of his title this weekend.
Holloway was scheduled to fight Brian Ortega in a UFC 226 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Overnight, Holloway's management team released a statement regarding "concussion-like symptoms" which he has felt in recent days. It's said that Holloway was rushed to hospital on Monday for tests and has since suffered from "flashing vision and slurred speech".
Max Holloway statement
Max’s team and UFC staff noticed Max was not normal since late last week. This became obvious to many watching his interviews and public appearances the past few days.
He was showing concussion-like symptoms before he even started his weight cut and was rushed to the ER on Monday where they admitted him overnight. Initial scans seemed okay, and he was released Tuesday afternoon, but symptoms still continued.
Max fought with his team to continue with the fight. He showed some improvement over the next day but was still showing obvious symptoms. After open workouts, he crashed and was very hard to wake up. When he did, he had flashing vision and slurred speech.
He is now back in the ER for further tests.
Holloway is currently on a 12-fight winning streak. His last defeat was nearly five years ago to Conor McGregor.
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