🚨 Injury News 🚨
Due to a medical issue with Josiah Harrell, his welterweight bout against Jack Della Maddalena has been canceled from #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/vbupXR7vkj— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) July 7, 2023
A forced fight withdrawal of a Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer might have just saved his life.
Last Friday, Jack Della Maddalena (14-2) announced that his welterweight matchup with Sean Brady was no more, due to an illness later determined to be septic bursitis on Brady's elbow. A few days later, the UFC acquired the services of Josiah Harrell (7-0) to step in for his promotional debut, instead of numerous names like Kevin Holland and Joaquin Buckley campaigning for the slot.
Following the UFC 290 weigh-ins on Friday, the results of a pre-fight brain scan came back to determine that, per MMAJunkie, Harrell has been diagnosed with a rare disorder called moyamoya disease and is out of the fight. Harrell will be undergoing surgery to address this soon, according to his manager. This is a similar situation as "The Ultimate Fighter" vet Vince Murdock, who had the non-life threatening condition corrected, and he has since returned to competition.
It is currently unclear when the promotion will schedule Maddalena to compete again. The surging Aussie has racked up 14 straight wins since dropping his first two as a pro. Winner of four in the UFC to date, all by finish, 13 of his 14 victories on his way up have come by stoppage. In 2022, his promotional debut against Pete Rodriguez went well, and he went on to decimate Ramazan Emeev and Danny Roberts within one round to draw some serious focus. When he submitted Randy Brown in February, he emerged as a contender in the talent-rich 170-pound division.
“Muscle Hamster” Josiah Harrell was aiming to keep his momentum going, with seven wins on his ledger all by stoppage since turning pro in 2020. The former massive underdog put himself on the radar back in June, when his Round 3 double-leg takedown of Michael Roberts at LFA 160 sent them crashing through the cage door. Both fighters recovered, and Harrell pounded out his foe later that round. Per the automated Twitter account of UFC Roster Watch that tracks fighter eligibility for rankings consideration, Harrell is no longer a member of the UFC. Harrell's manager has reportedly disputed his release.
UFC 290 will carry on with 13 fights at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 8. The main card remains intact, with Alexander Volkanovski looking to unify his featherweight belt against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez in the headliner. The co-main sees Brandon Moreno rematch Alexandre Pantoja with flyweight gold on the line. Other main card tilts include a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis, and a de facto 158-pound catchweight contest when the heavy Jalin Turner takes on Dan Hooker.