[ad_1]
UFC lightweight Ottman Azaitar is no longer with the promotion after breaking COVID-19 safety protocol in Abu Dhabi.
Azaitar was scheduled to compete in UFC 257 this Saturday against Matt Frevola, but during official weigh-ins on Friday it was announced that he had been taken off the card. The UFC subsequently announced that Azaitar’s withdrawal was due to “a recent violation of health and safety protocols.”
UFC President Dana White later confirmed in an interview with BT Sport that Azaitar was cut for his actions, news first reported by Addicted to MMA. According to White, Azaitar attempted to help other people enter the UFC’s designated safe zone and bypass COVID-19 quarantine measures.
“He and his team cut their bracelets, gave them to someone outside the bubble, I don’t even know how they did it,” White said. “This guy checked them in, showed up here with a bag, went into a room, walked across four balconies, went to his room, put the bag down, changed his clothes, then left.
“Now when security tried to stop him, he didn’t stop, anyway, and yeah, it’s just … he left.” He’s no longer a UFC fighter and he’s not fighting tonight.
With Azaitar out, Frevola now faces Arman Tsarukyan in a 157-pound wrestling bout. Tsarukyan lost his initially intended opponent, Nasrat Haqparast, to illness.
Azaitar, 30, is undefeated in 13 pro fights and won his first two UFC fights by first round knockout. He knocked out Teemu Packalen on his Octagon debut at UFC 242, and followed with a 93-second TKO from Khama Worthy in a UFC Fight Night event last September.
[ad_2]
Source link