Ray Borg wanted nothing more than to compete for the flyweight title on Saturday night at UFC 215.
Unfortunately, a viral infection knocked the top five ranked fighter out of his fight against reigning champion Demetrious Johnson after UFC doctors deemed him unfit to compete.
On Friday, Borg released a statement to MMAWeekly.com regarding his withdrawal from the card due to illness.
“First, I want to say I’m sorry to the fans and to Demetrious Johnson for being unable to fight,” Borg said in the statement. “I want to say thank you to Dr. Davidson, the UFC and to Jeff Novitsky for looking out for my health and best interests.
“I also want to add that I am no longer working with Perfecting Athletes and Michelle Ingels, who was not authorized to speak on my behalf.”
Borg was preparing for his first shot at UFC gold after being granted the title shot following two wins in a row and victories in four out of his last five fights.
Now it appears he’ll have to wait a little longer to face Johnson, who was attempting to break the all-time record for title defenses in UFC history.
There’s no word from UFC officials when they will rebook the fight, but rumors have been swirling that Johnson vs. Borg could get moved to a new card sooner rather than later once the 24-year old New Mexico native is cleared to compete again.
