UFC President Dana White has pulled Ottman Azaitar from UFC 257 and fired him after Azaitar and his team orchestrated to sneak at least one person into the UFC Fight Island bubble.
Azaitar was noticeably absent from the UFC 257 weigh-in on Friday morning. White subsequently informed BT Sport that Azaitar was fired. According to the UFC boss, Azaitar and their team cut off their wrist bands and gave them to someone outside of the bubble, who preceded to sneak in-and-out of the complex. A visibly disappointed White canned Azaitar for compromising the company's COVID-19 protocol.
"It's bad, he's gone, he's no longer a UFC fighter."
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) January 22, 2021
Dana White explains why Ottman Azaitar has been cut from the UFC following a health and safety breach at #UFC257. pic.twitter.com/UO3aJbLUWO
“He and his team cut off their wrist bands, gave them to somebody outside the bubble, I don’t know how they even did it,” White said (h/t MMA Fighting). “That guy taped them, showed up here with a bag, went into a room, shimmied across four balconies, went in his room dropped the bag off, changed his clothes, and then left."
“Now when security tried to stop him, he wouldn’t stop, either way, and yeah, it’s just... he’s gone," White asserted. "He’s no longer a UFC fighter and he’s not fighting tonight.”
UFC 257 takes place at Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on January 23. The pay-per-view card is headlined by Poirier vs. McGregor 2. Keep up with Fightful for all your fight night coverage.
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