Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett and UFC veteran Ronny Markes were scheduled to headline Bellator 235, but Barnett came down with an illness and the bout was pulled from the card.
Scott Coker says that a doctor checking on Barnett before the fight was the one who made the call to cancel that heavyweight division encounter.
“I was texting back and forth with Josh,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “He is a warrior. He is a legend. He’s done everything in this sport already, and so he was sick to the point he couldn’t even stand up. He just wasn’t good enough to fight. … I talked to the doctor. She said, ‘Hey look, this guy needs to get an IV in him. He’s not good enough to fight. I’m pulling him.’ She pulled the plug.”
The Bellator MMA President agrees with the decision made the doctor and the athletic commission, but still feels bad for Barnett.
“The commission I think made a good call,” Coker said. “I was texting with him today, and he was even sick today. He said, ‘I’m still in bed, I have the chills, my body aches, my kidney’s hurt. I’ve been throwing up all morning.’ I feel bad for the guy. It’s an unfortunate situation. It’s happened twice in my career. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.”
There has been no official decision made at this time as to whether or not Barnett and Markes will get rescheduled for Bellator 238 or if they will go their separate ways.
