Las Vegas, NV, (November 8, 2018) – Due to reasons involving medical issues, Final Fight Championship has announced that “FFC 34” on November 9th has been officially canceled.

Below is a written statement released by Nick Sadeghi, MD of Athlete Advantage Medical in Las Vegas, NV.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission requires a series of medical examinations to be completed by a professional fighter in order to determine the medical condition of a fighter, the outcome of those exams determining if the fighter will be cleared to compete or not. Of utmost concern is the fighter’s physical well being. One of the required tests is an MRA of the brain, which is a test that looks at the structure and integrity of the arteries that supply blood to the brain.  It was determined by independent physicians conducting the exams for FFC as well as the Nevada State Athletic Commission that several fighters scheduled to compete on the November 9th fight card would not be able to compete due to abnormal MRA findings which identified small aneurysms in the brain.  The abnormal results were confirmed on a follow up test called a CTA, which is more thorough and accurate exam.  An aneurysm is essentially a pocket that forms off of an artery.  The walls of the aneurysm are weaker than the regular walls of the artery so are at risk of rupturing or bursting.  This rupture can be spontaneous which means randomly happens, and we see this in a small percentage of regular people in the population.  In the case we are talking about here, a fighter with an aneurysm may be at higher risk of rupture due to trauma or injuries sustained during training or the fight.  Worst-case scenario, a fighter with an aneurysm takes a hit, the aneurysm bursts, and the fighter can have life-threatening bleeding into the brain.  For obvious reasons, these fighters could not be cleared to compete without proper medical workup.  This includes consulting with a Neurosurgeon and an Interventional Radiologist.  Some fighters may be cleared after this, but some may need a surgical procedure to correct the aneurysm before he or she can continue to fight in the future.

FFC CEO/President, Orsat Zovko, issued his own statement regarding the unfortunate cancelation.

“We are disappointed to make this announcement, but on such short notice it was impossible to move forward because four of our six fights were stopped by the commission and medical personnel, including our Main Event and Co-Event,” said Zovko. “We must follow the strict rules and guidelines of the Nevada Athletic Commission, and we respect the decisions made by the medical community, because it is in the best interest of the fighters, and to protect their health is the ultimate goal.”