Amir Sadollah Addresses UFC 91 Withdrawal

Amir Sadollah released a statement Wednesday from the hospital expressing his disappointment for having to pull out of UFC 91 due to a leg infection.

“To all my fans, I really appreciate all the support you have sent my way and I am so sorry I am not able to fight this weekend,” Sadollah said on his website. “I trained harder for this fight than any other fight in my life and I was looking forward to this more than you know.”

Sadollah said he found a small mark on his leg on Friday and immediately went to the doctor. He received medication, but the infection worsened on Sunday and he’s been hospitalized since at least Wednesday.

“I am very sorry if I disappointed anyone,” Sadollah continued. “A lot of work by a lot of people went into this. For it to end with something totally out of my control makes it difficult to swallow. I will be back in the gym as soon as possible and will be ready to fight as soon as [matchmaker] Joe Silva can get me back in.”

The fight would have been Sadollah’s first since winning “The Ultimate Fighter 7" middleweight tournament by submission over CB Dollaway in June. Sadollah was scheduled to face Nick Catone, an undefeated USKBA middleweight champion looking forward to his UFC debut.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory has been bumped up to the pay-per-view in place of Sadollah-Catone on Saturday's event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Catone, it's been reported from a very reliable source (our favorite bowling alley bartender), will make his octagon debut February 7th. His opponent probably won't be announced for a few weeks but he's already in fight shape, that's for sure. He's been doing a bit of extra training in Muay Thai, sharpening his clinch and knee strikes. It's definitely going to be a long anticipated debut and we'll keep any happenings updated as they occur.