A welterweight bout between Wellington Turman and Islam Dulatov was cancelled on the day of UFC Abu Dhabi after Dulatov had to be hospitalized the night before, and Turman believes it could have been avoided had his opponent followed the right procedure after making weight.
Turman told MMA Fighting he was in his hotel room, getting ready to head to the arena to fight, when his manager called to inform him of the cancellation.
“It was heartbreaking,” Turman said. “It’s never a good feeling when you go through an entire training camp to get there and fight, especially after everything I went through to make this comeback. It was really disappointing that I didn’t get to show my work.”
Turman said he met with members of Dulatov’s team later that day and they provided some insight on what really happened Friday.
“There’s no way you can fight if you’re sick and not feeling well, but I think it showed a bit of a lack of professionalism,” Turman said. “The guy has everything he could possibly need in the UFC. There’s the UFC PI, where these people put together an entire plan to make sure a fighter is at his best on fight night. After the weigh-in, I also wanted to eat some chocolate or something different from what we’ve been eating during the weight cut, but I know that won’t help me perform at my best on fight day, so I try to avoid it.
“His team told us he was following a bodybuilding coach who isn’t even from the MMA world. They said that coach gave him some shakes, and that’s what made him sick. That’s one thing I don’t understand. The guy isn’t even from the fight game, and he’s the one advising him. But what can you do? If someone’s sick, there’s nothing you can do about it. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I hope he’s back as soon as possible.”
Turman confirmed he was paid his show money, but lamented the fact he couldn’t get back in the cage for what would be his first fight in two and a half years after going through four shoulder surgeries.
The 30-year-old said he’s open to re-booking a fight with Dulatov for UFC 333, which is scheduled for Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, but he hopes the welterweight prospect has learned a valuable lesson with this experience.
“I hope he doesn’t make that mistake again and starts listening to the specialists at the UFC PI,” Turman said. “But yeah, I’d be a little cautious [re-booking this fight] because I want to get to fight night and actually be able to show my work. We get part of the money, but it’s not what I was hoping for. I was expecting to get that win, maybe earn a bonus, and most importantly, show my work and how much I’ve improved during this time.”
