Jessica Aguilar and Jodie Esquibel will no longer be competing tonight (June 1).
Aguilar and Esquibel were set to clash on the preliminary portion of UFC Utica, but it appears those plans have gone awry. The two were going to meet inside the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York. Instead, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) pulled the plug on the bout.
Peep Ariel Helwani’s tweet:
Tonight’s Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel fight has been canceled, sources say. I’m told the NYSAC pulled the fight moments ago due to a concern over a medical issue with Aguilar. In fact, the issue came up yesterday and NY asked Aguilar to get medically cleared and she did.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 1, 2018
Helwani reached out to Aguilar for confirmation. The strawweight said the bout cancellation was due to “chapped lips” but was cleared by a local doctor shortly after. A rep for the NYSAC claimed he wasn’t allowed to speak on the reasoning:
I asked Jessica Aguilar why she was pulled from the fight. “Chapped lips,” she said. This was the reason I was told there was concern yesterday and she got cleared by a local doctor rather quickly. The NY rep I spoke to said they weren’t at liberty to discuss the reason.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 1, 2018
Aguilar told Helwani the following:
“NY commission is horrible and don’t understand everything we go through to make it here. It’s absolutely crazy and heartbraking.”
It is indeed heartbreaking for Aguilar, who hasn’t competed since May 2017. She was set to face Livia Renata Souza back in February, but Souza pulled out just eight days before the fight due to a hand injury. Now, Aguilar gets word that she can’t compete on the same day of her scheduled bout.
This isn’t the first time the NYSAC has come under fire. There was the infamous “Towel Gate” at UFC 210 where Daniel Cormier was allowed to weigh in for his title defense against Anthony Johnson after missing weight the first time. Cormier held down on his towel and went from 206.2 pounds to 205 pounds.
There’s also the Pearl Gonzalez debacle at the same event. Gonzalez was initially ruled out of her bout with Cynthia Cavillo due to her breast implants following weigh-ins. The decision was reversed and Gonzalez was allowed to compete.
More recently, the NYSAC ruled Max Holloway unfit to compete at UFC 223 due to his weight cutting. The UFC wanted Paul Felder to replace him, but the commission ruled against it because Felder wasn’t ranked.
Do you think the NYSAC is doing more harm than good for the sport of mixed martial arts?
