Sports

Max Holloway out of UFC 226 title bout with concussion woes

05 of July 2018

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2017, file photo, Max Holloway, left, punches Jose Aldo, of Brazil, during the third round of a UFC 218 featherweight mixed martial arts bout in Detroit. UFC featherweight champion Holloway's representatives say he is dropping out of his title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 226 this weekend due to apparent concussion symptoms. Holloway's management team announced the decision in a statement issued Wednesday night, July 4, 2018, three days before the bout. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez, File),FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2017, file photo, Max Holloway, left, punches Jose Aldo, of Brazil, during the third round of a UFC 218 featherweight mixed martial arts bout in Detroit. UFC featherweight champion Holloway's representatives say he is dropping out of his title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 226 this weekend due to apparent concussion symptoms. Holloway's management team announced the decision in a statement issued Wednesday night, July 4, 2018, three days before the bout. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez, File)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway’s representatives say he is dropping out of his title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 226 this weekend due to apparent concussion symptoms.

Holloway’s management team announced the decision in a statement issued Wednesday night, three days before the bout.

The UFC didn’t immediately confirm any changes to the penultimate bout on its biggest show of the summer.

The statement from Holloway’s camp indicates the champion stayed overnight in an emergency room Monday before he had even started his weight cut for the bout. Holloway was taken to an emergency room again Wednesday after awakening groggily from a nap following an open workout for fans at the MGM Grand.

Holloway (19-3) has been pulled from three prospective bouts this year due to health problems.