UFC prospect Guram Kutateladze has pulled out from his bout at UFC 283. ‘Georgian Viking’ reportedly suffered a major staph infection.
UFC 283 is just around the corner.
It will be the UFC’s first major event in 2023.
The card is set to be held on January 21st in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event will be headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between former champion Glover Teixeira and rising star Jamahal Hill.
The co-main event features a flyweight title bout between Deiveison Figueiredo and Brendan Moreno.
Unfortunately, it seems like Kutateladze won’t be able to compete on the card.
The 31-year-old Georgian was booked to face Thiago Moises in a lightweight bout at UFC 283 later this month. However, two weeks before the event kicked off, he had to pull out.
The UFC hasn’t officially announced it, but several sources revealed that Kutateladze suffered a major staph infection. This infection is usually on skin, and is quite dangerous because it’s very contagious.
The video released online showcased the grave danger Kutateladze is in.
“Very unfortunate, I have a bad news, due to an injury (staph infection and inflammation in my elbow) I’m forced to cancel the fight once again.”
“It’s an injury that happened in Dubai, during the training camp. I’m still nowadays taking strong medicine. We were hoping, that it would get better, but with only few weeks left to the fight I will not be healed properly.” – Kutateladze wrote on social media
We have a plan, but God always have a better one.”
Staph is typically treated with antibiotics further compromising cardio of an athlete.
Guram Kutateladze was a hot prospect when he joined the UFC in 2020. He had an 8 win streak with several knockout victories.
In his first UFC match, he defeated fellow prospect Mateusz Gamrot via a split decision. However, he snapped 9 win streak in his second UFC bout. He took on Damir Ismagulov and got edged out. As luck would have it, Ismagulov recently retired.
Meanwhile, his supposed opponent Thiago Moises is 5-4 in his UFC run. Moises was last seen in the octagon in June of last year, when he submitted Christos Giagos via a RNC. He is likely to still be featured at UFC 283 and will face Melquizael Costa.