UFC 248 is down a fight on short notice, as strawweight Emily Whitmire has dropped off the card due to health reasons.
Emily Whitmire has been transported to hospital, and is off the UFC 248 card.
News of Whitmire’s situation broke Saturday afternoon, just hours out from her planned fight with Polyana Vianna. The strawweight had missed weight by 1.5bs at Friday’s official weigh-in, and was visibly fatigued coming off the scale.
The UFC has not yet made an announcement regarding Whitmire’s withdrawal, and no specific cause for her trip to hospital has been revealed.
However, her opponent, Polyana Vianna, confirmed that the fight was off via social media. She also wished her fallen opponent well.
“I just heard that Emily is out of the fight with me today. I also heard she had to be taken to the ER. I hope she is alright and I wish from the bottom of my heart that she recovers from whatever it is that she is suffering from,” Viana wrote on her official Twitter account.
Whitmire had never before missed weight in the UFC, although she had competed at flyweight outside the promotion.
UFC 248 takes place tonight (March 7, 2020) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Whitmire vs. Viana was expected to feature as part of the preliminary card.
