Rashad Evans Pulled From UFC 205 Bout Vs Tim Kennedy

Former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has been pulled from his preliminary middleweight bout against Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 due to an issue with his pre-fight medicals.

Rashad Evans Pulled From UFC 205 Bout Vs Tim Kennedy

The pair were supposed to face off in Saturday’s event at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

However, according to Evans, the New York State Athletic Commission found a problem with his medicals and wouldn’t clear him to obtain a license to compete in the state.

“I got pulled of the card because I didn’t meet the NY commissions medical standards,” Evans wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “I am medically fine so please don’t worry about me. I will share more at another time but right now I just need to digest months of hard work and preparations.”

UFC 205 was supposed to be a homecoming for Evans, who is a New York native, while also marking his first time competing at 185 pounds.

“I’m healthy”, Evans told MMAFighting.com. I don’t want anyone worrying about me. I’m fine, physically speaking. Never felt better. It’s just the commission and their rules. I guess they have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to this.”

Kennedy took to Twitter on Tuesday asking several fighters to accept a bout with him after news that Evans was being pulled from the card. He also praised the UFC for how it handled the fallout of his fight:

Both Evans and Kennedy will be paid in full for the fight, along with their promised win bonuses. Kennedy was reportedly planning to retire after the big New York bout.

There is another middleweight card on UFC 205 as Tim Boetsch takes on Rafael Natal in the early prelims.