Willis declared unfit, fight with Tybura scrapped
Fighter pulled from #UFC208, and explains why on his social network
UFC Heavyweight Justin Willis was deemed unfit to fight at UFC 208 by the New York State Athletic Commission. The fighter himself made the announcement, via his social network.
Hey everyone, I want you to hear from me first, I did everything I could to make weight for the fight this weekend but due to the short notice my body shut down during the weight cut and the UFC doctors wouldn’t clear me to fight. I will be back in the UFC with a full camp very soon. Thank you to everyone at the UFC, all of their staff have been great. I want the same opponent or anybody else will suffice. I will be ready. God Bless.
No information was provided on precisely why Willis failed to make weight. The AKA heavyweight had been on a four-fight win streak and was 4-1 as a pro. Opponent Marcin Tybura weighed in at 245.4, will be paid his show money, and will be rebooked for another fight.
In an interview with MMAjunkie, Tybura bore no ill will towards Willis.
When I found out, it was something I couldn’t believe, said Tybura to Mike Bohn and John Morgan. I was at the medical exams, and they told me the fight in canceled. I wanted to cry. Seriously.
There’s no one to blame for that. He took the fight on 10 days’ notice and tried to make weight. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the thing is there’s no one to blame.
When you have ambitions to fight, the money is not enough. I had the already-rising adrenaline and everything, and now I don’t see the point of training anymore. It’s crazy. I’ve been waiting half a year before now, and I’m hoping to fight sometime soon.
I can fight in one week or something. What’s going to happen? I don’t know. I don’t wish anybody to step out of a fight in any upcoming events, but if anything happens, I’m in. I can go wherever around the world.
The fight was on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the card, which will now start at 7:00 p.m. local ET.
UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie takes place on February 11, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main event will take place on Pay Per View television if you live in the United States. The twelve fight card is now finalized:
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Holly Holm vs. Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural women’s featherweight title
Derek Brunson vs. Anderson Silva
Tim Boetsch vs. Ronaldo Souza
Jared Cannonier vs. Glover Teixeira
Jim Miller vs. Dustin Poirier
Prelim Card (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Randy Brown vs. Belal Muhammad
Wilson Reis vs. Ulka Sasaki
Nik Lentz vs. Islam Makhachev
Jarred Brooks vs. Ian McCall
Prelim Card (UFC Fight Pass, 7:00 p.m. ET)
Marcin Tybura vs. Justin Willis
Roan Carneiro vs. Ryan LaFlare
Rick Glenn vs. Phillipe Nover
