Ateba Gautier is without a dance partner for UFC 320, only days out from the pay-per-view offering.
Ozzy Diaz was initially supposed to compete against the man that some have been calling the middleweight Francis Ngannou. But alas, Diaz will no longer be stepping into the cage at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena to do battle with Gautier on Saturday, October 4th.
Taking to his Instagram page to address the circumstances of his bout withdrawal, Ozzy Diaz said [via MMA Junkie],
“Hey everyone, I have some really tough news to share. After careful consideration and talking with my team and medical professionals, I’ve had to make the heartbreaking decision to pull out of my fight this week.”
“This isn’t a choice I ever thought I’d have to make, but my health and safety have to come first. I truly appreciate all your support and understanding during this time, and I promise to come back stronger soon. I would like to apologize to the @ufc and also to my opponent @ateba_theassassin. This decision was a hard one.”
“But through it all, I trust God’s plan. I believe everything happens for a reason, even when I can’t see it yet. This is just another test, another chapter, and I promise you I will get back up. I’m going to keep fighting, keep believing, and keep pushing forward. Thank you to everyone who continues to ride with me. Your support means more than you know. This one hurts I’m truly heartbroken.”
The UFC run of Ateba Gautier so far, pre-UFC 320
The issue was medical in nature, but Diaz did not get into the in-depth specifics about what happened to pull him from the card. It is unclear as of this writing if the promotion is working towards a re-booking for Gautier to keep him on the event.
The Cameroon native was scheduled for the feature fight of UFC 320’s preliminary portion and was looking to grow his UFC-specific record to 3-0. Gautier has authored back-to-back devastating performances inside the octagon so far.