Andrew Todhunter Debut: ‘Sniper’ Officially Out Of ‘UFC 188’ – Albert Tumenov Will No Longer Compete In Preliminaries

UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum is supposed to be a huge night for UFC newcomer Andrew Todhunter. Though his debut would only be aired on UFC Fight Pass in the preliminaries, the fact his debut happened on one of UFC’s marquee events is a dream come true for any MMA fighter. In short, it would have been a night Andrew Todhunter would be able to prove to himself that he belongs in UFC, the same night Cain Velasquez would prove to himself and everyone else that he is the true UFC Heavyweight Champion, despite numerous factors working against him.

Unfortunately for Andrew Todhunter, his proving ground will not be at UFC 188. Due to medical issues, Todhunter has been officially taken out of the fight. Not only that, the fact that he was taken out just a day before the event, Todhunter’s opponent, Albert Tumenov, has also been taken out too.

According to MMA Fighting, Andrew Todhunter apparently passed out trying to make weight. UFC officials noticed the situation and alerted doctors who administered IV fluid. As for why Todhunter passed out, it should be noted that he had only two weeks to prepare for this fight. If it is assumed he remained at 200 pounds from his boxing match from less than a month ago, he would need to cut 30 pounds in order to be at 170 pounds, the max weight for the welterweight division. That is too extreme of a weight loss in too short a time span. Nevertheless, the doctors deemed Todhunter unfit to compete.

It should be reported that Andrew Todhunter isn’t just any MMA fighter who is going into UFC with very little experience. According to the statistics provided by Sherdog, Todhunter is undefeated in both his amateur and professional careers. During his amateur tour, he was 7-0. All his wins are either by TKO or submissions in the first round with the exception of his sixth amateur fight which he won by unanimous decision. As for Andrew Todhunter’s pro tour, he too is 7-0, in which all of his wins are by submission in the first or second round.

The silver lining with this situation is that Albert Tumenov is still getting paid for making weight. Also, Tumenov is very understanding of the situation, knowing what Andrew Todhunter had to do to prep for the fight in such a short time, as detailed by his manager, Charles McCarthy.

“This is a really unfortunate situation, but health is the No. 1 priority. Andrew was excited as anyone I’ve ever seen to make his UFC debut. But I know he’ll be back soon and he’ll make a major impact when he is.”

[Image via Andrew Todhunter’s Official Facebook]