Honolulu, The Bellator 235 main event fight that was going to happen between the famous Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes, has been scrapped just a few hours before it was scheduled.
Josh Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) & Ronny Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) were set to fight against each other in a heavyweight fight that was going to be the promotional debuts for both of them. But sadly, the illness of Josh Barnett kept this fight from happening. As per the updates, the fight is postponed until Barnett is declared healthy by the medical staff.
This news came out from multiple sources who had the knowledge of the fight being canceled informed the newsagents.
Later, following the decision, Bellator released a statement via Scott Coker, the president on Twitter saying –
“On the advice of the Hawaii State Boxing Commission, tonight’s main event bout between Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes has been canceled. Barnett has not been cleared tonight due to severe illness. Toby Misech vs. Erik Perez is the new #BellatorUSO main event.”
Barnett on Wednesday’s open workout session showed no signs of illness or any kind of health issue. He launched an impromptu pro wrestling match with his partner Erik Hammer, which included him throwing Hammer off the stage and two throwing each other into the ice cooler on the Great Lawn of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.\
In the official weigh-ins for the event held on Thursday, Barnette came in at 251.6 pounds.
In this fight, Barnett was all set to return from the longest layoff of his career. He hadn’t been in an MMA fight since September 2016 win over from Andrei Arlovski, the UFC heavyweight champion, a third-round submission that won him a double bonus.
In December 2016, he was notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of the potential drug test to which he was given a mere reprimand in March 2018 due to a containment supplement. Following this, the UFC allowed him to be released from his contract in June 2018. After which he signed with Bellator this year. His debut with the promotion that made headlines, “Salute the Troops” in Honolulu has been announced to go on hold.
Back in his hotel room, he made a video discussing his situation referring to it as “some sort of weird nightmare.”
