Deron Winn will no longer compete in his scheduled fight against Julian Marquez at UFC Vegas 66 on Saturday.
Winn revealed on Instagram that he fainted and fell down a set of stairs at the UFC Performance Institute during his final days of preparation for the event at UFC APEX.
“Yesterday at the UFC PI, I fainted and had a freak accident,” Winn wrote. “I fell down the stairs, hit my head and neck pretty hard. Sustained a mild concussion. They rushed me to the hospital and ran a bunch of tests on me. The majority of the tests came back normal, so I’m thankful for that.
“Since I suffered the concussion, the UFC and medical has decided to pull me from my fight this weekend. I am devastated. I have put so much work in these last couple months. I hope to rebook soon. Sorry to my opponent and sorry to all [who] have invested into me this camp. I’m heartbroken. Love all of you who support me.”
Winn didn’t detail what led to him fainting, but obviously with a concussion suffered, he will not be allowed to compete on Saturday.
A highly touted prospect who came up under UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, Winn has struggled since joining the roster with a 2-3 record through five fights with the promotion. Winn suffered a second-round knockout loss to Phil Hawes in his previous outing in June.
It’s also unfortunate news for Marquez, who was also looking to get back in the win column following a knockout loss to Gregory Rodriguez in June. Overall, Marquez has gone 2-2 in his past four fights including wins over Sam Alvey and Maki Pitolo.
UFC officials did not respond to MMA Fighting regarding the status for Marquez, though it seems highly unlikely a replacement opponent will be secured 48 hours from the event.