Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight Matt Schnell fell ill at Friday’s UFC 269 weigh-in, resulting in a concerning scene for those watching — and leading to the cancellation of his fight with Alex Perez.
Schnell (15-6) hit the mark at Friday morning’s weigh-in, coming in at 126 pounds for the flyweight affair just over an hour into the weigh-in window.
However, Schnell never left the backstage area after weighing in. Paramedics and other staff soon converged on the scene — entering and exiting the backstage area on more than one occasion. Thirty minutes after he had weighed in, Matt Schnell still had not made his exit. With that in mind, it was doubtful that the athletic commission would allow the fight to go ahead, and not surprisingly, UFC officials later confirmed the bout was cancelled.
“Due to medical issues with flyweight Matt Schnell, his bout with Alex Perez has been cancelled from tomorrow’s card,” Jon Anik announced at the end of weigh-ins.
Schnell and Perez had been expected to face off on the early preliminary portion of the UFC 269 card. “Danger” last competed in May, losing via unanimous decision to Rogerio Bontorin in a catchweight bout necessitated by the Brazilian missing weight.
Perez (24-6) was actually Schnell’s original opponent back in May at UFC 262. The pair were later linked to dates in August and November, before finally landing on the UFC 269 card. Perez has not competed since his title fight loss to Deiveson Figueiredo in November 2020.
UFC 269 is expected to move forward with the following fights:
Charles Oliveira (c) vs. Dustin Poirier – for the UFC lightweight championship
Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Julianna Peña – for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship
Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Kai Kara-France vs. Cody Garbrandt
Raulian Paiva vs. Sean O’Malley
Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige
Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz
Augusto Sakai vs. Tai Tuivasa
Jordan Wright vs. Bruno Silva
André Muniz vs. Eryk Anders
Erin Blanchfield vs. Miranda Maverick
Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner
Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley
Gillian Robertson vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Update: Schnell took to social media to assure fans he was feeling okay. Medical staff cancelled his fight, per Schnell, due to an elevated heart rate.
