Back in late January, UFC lightweight Ottman Azaitar was gearing up for a bout against Matt Frevola on Fight Island. However, the fight – scheduled to take place on the UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor undercard – was cancelled at the last minute by the UFC.
Fights falling apart just before their scheduled event is hardly a rarity in the UFC of 2020 & 2021, but what happened with Azaitar on January 23rd seemed like a real mystery. Initially reported that the Moroccan-born fighter out of Germany had broken COVID-19 ‘bubble’ protocols, UFC president Dana White later revealed that Azaitar had seemingly engaged in a bit of subterfuge in order to have a bag smuggled into his room, past security.