UFC 296 has suffered a major blow due to the withdrawal of welterweight Ian Garry.
The surging Irish 170lb contender was set to kick off the stacked pay-per-view main card in a pivotal career clash with former team-mate Vicente Luque.
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His absence from Wednesday’s media day raised plenty of questions, although many believed he’d skipped the event due to the troll frenzy around his wife Layla Machado Garry.
But it’s since been revealed the former Cage Warriors star has been battling pneumonia and won’t be in action this weekend.
UFC president and CEO Dana White announced Garry’s withdrawal in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He said: “Guys, I know it’s out there and there’s some speculation that Ian Garry [versus Vicente] Luque is off.
“It’s true, it is.”
According to White, Garry was initially battling with flu before the infection got worse and turned into pneumonia.
He said: “Ian Garry started with the flu that turned into pneumonia.
“So that fight is off and is not happening, it is true.”
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The undefeated Garry, 26, has yet to address his unfortunate withdrawal from the biggest fight of his career.
Garry was hoping to use former training partner Luque as a stepping stone to a big title run in 2024.
He told SunSport: “When I beat Vicente because Vicente is so well rounded and so well respected by fight fans around the world, I want people to have that same feeling as when I beat Neil Magny.
“Ohh, that kid that to Vicente. So whatever way I plan on beating him, whatever avenue I decide to go down, I want people to have that, ‘Oh f**k moment.’
“That, ‘Holy f**k, he just did that?!’ That would be my go-to.”
He added: “If you add Danny Rodriguez, Neil Magny and Vicente Luque to the start of any title run, that’s a pretty impressive resume before you have even touched the rest of the top-ten or top-five in the division.”