Louis Smolka Staph Infection Forces Cancellation of Fight with Sean “Sugar” O’Malley at UFC 264.
This fight was one of the main event’s fights at UFC 264 (Poirier vs McGregor 3), but Smolka was out.
Louis “Da Last Samurai” Smolka (17-7-0) clarifies the reasons for pulling out of the fight with “Sugar” O’Malley (13-1-0).
He posted that he wanted to fight with “Sugar”, but the decision was not his to make. As it turned out, he could not fight because of an infection that prevented him from receiving the medical clearance he needed to participate.
Smolka posted an explanation of why he pulled out on Instagram. He also mentioned that one day he still wants to fight Sean O’Malley.
“I was really excited about this fight. Being from Hawai’i, I have that jus scrap mentality, so if it were solely up to me, I’d still fight. But, I have an infection, so, unfortunately, I’ve been deemed medically unfit. It sucks, but we have to be responsible for my health and the health of my training partners and opponents. I understand that Sean is set to stay on the card, so I wish him the best. I’m sure we will see each other down the line.
This is a bummer, but it’s the reality of fight camps and continuous training. We are optimistic that we can get a new date set for you all when my infection clears. Thank you to my family, the @ufc, my managers, nutritionists, coaches, team, and the fans for the help and support. I appreciate you all very much. We are known for turning setbacks into comebacks, so that’s the plan.”
Samurai did not name exactly what kind of infection he had or how much time he needs to recover fully.
Meanwhile, “Sugar Show” continues with Kris Moutinho (9-4-0). This will be his debut in his UFC and a golden opportunity to make a statement against the rising star of the UFC.
Lots of fighters expressed the desire to fight against such a popular fighter. Cody Stamann wanted his chance to fight on the main card of UFC 264. Cody’s last opponent Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (13-4-0, 6-2 in UFC), also said he would love to fight against Sugar at UFC 264 and Marlon Moraes UFC 266. Another Georgian fighter and the LFA Bantamweight Champion Zviad Lazishvili (8-0-0) wanted his debut in the UFC against O’Malley.