UFC 290 is set to kick off on Saturday with a number of star-studded fights scheduled. However, one fight that was planned to take place will no longer happen after one fighter received some horrible news before the fight, that could have prevented a life-threatening injury.
No. 14 ranked welterweight contender Jack Della Maddalena was scheduled to fight undefeated UFC newcomer Josiah Harrell. Unfortunately, Harrell had to pull out of the fight after receiving a scary diagnosis from an MRI after the fighters weighed in on Friday.
USA Today’s Nolan King issued a tweet relaying a message from Harrell’s manager, stating that Harrell’s MRI showed that he has been diagnosed with moyamoya syndrome, which is a rare disease that results in blocked arteries at the base of the brain. This disease will force Harrell to undergo a brain procedure in the near future.
It’s obviously disappointing that the fight had to be cancelled, but this MRI likely saved Harrell from putting his health in further risk by fighting.
Fans took to social media to offer their condolences to Harrell and wish him the best with his upcoming procedure.
Perhaps even more wild is that Josiah Harrell was never even supposed to be in this situation to fight at UFC 290. He only received the offer to fight Della Maddalena on short notice after another fighter, Sean Brady, initially pulled out of his fight against Della Maddalena.
If that never happened, who knows if Harrell ever would have found out about this rare disease and gotten the proper help that he needs.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.