UFC officials announced Friday that Renan Barao has been pulled from his rematch with Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 177.
The news comes just one day before the fight, with the UFC saying that Barao is out after falling ill while cutting weight, according to MMAjunkie.
Barao will be replaced by newcomer Joe Soto, a former champion from Bellator who will be making his debut in the UFC against Dillashaw. The news was announced only one hour before the weigh-ins for UFC 177, which were held in Sacramento.
Soto, who holds a 15-2 record, was originally scheduled for an undercard bout against Anthony Birchak before being moved up the card, MMAWeekly reported. Having begun his professional career in 2006, Soto won a featherweight tournament in Bellator in 2009, but was unsuccessful in taking the belt from Joe Warren, who was the champion at the time. His only other loss was to Eddie Yagin, a veteran in the UFC.
Soto will be going into his fight with Dillashaw with six straight wins under his belt.
Barao holds a 32-2 record in MMA, with seven wins and one loss in the UFC. He was reported to be cutting weight in his hotel bathtub when he stood up, lost consciousness and hit his head. After being taking to a hospital in Sacramento, he was treated and released. He then returned to his hotel, MMAjunkie reported.
The original fight between former champion Barao and Dillashaw was held in May at UFC 173, which ended in the fifth round with a victory for Dillashaw via TKO. Dillashaw holds a 10-2 record in MMA, with six wins and two loses in the UFC.
Barao's fight is not the only one at Saturday's event to be changed due to issues with cutting weight, MMAjunkie reported. Henry Cejudo (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a wrestler who won an Olympic gold medal, was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Scott Jorgenson (15-9 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card. However, he was also pulled from his fight for getting sick while cutting weight.
