Common sense has thankfully prevailed.
For a few hours there, it looked like the UFC was going ahead with the Mizuto Hirota vs. Charles Rosa fight this weekend despite the fact that the former could hardly stand on his own two feet while weighing in for the scheduled featherweight bout.
Hirota came in at 150lbs on Thursday afternoon in Saitama, roughly 36 hours before he was expected to open up the main card of the UFC’s return to Japan, but his appearance on the scales quickly became a cause for concern.
After stumbling to the scales, the veteran almost tumbled backwards as he stepped off and he had to be helped backstage by a member of his team due to his unsteadiness.
Miss today's #UFCJapan weigh-ins? Mizuto Hirota's trip to the scale was a little scary. Full rundown here: https://t.co/tacfafCSZ1 pic.twitter.com/qYHILHczyQ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 21, 2017
But after a spotlight was shone on the incident and question marks were hung over the safety of allowing such a visibly depleted athlete fight, the promotion has done the sensible thing by cancelling the contest.
A statement on Friday morning read: “Due to health and safety concerns, the UFC featherweight bout Hirota vs. Rosa at UFC Fight Night Japan: Saint Preux vs. Okami has been cancelled, as Hirota was deemed unfit to compete by the UFC medical team.
“UFC Fight Night Japan: Saint Preux vs. Okami will proceed as scheduled with 10 bouts at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Moving to the main card will be the flyweight bout between Jussier Formiga and Ulka Sasaki.”
