Linton Vassell may have missed his crack at a major promotional title all thanks to COVID.
On Thursday, Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) revealed he withdrew from his Oct. 7 bout vs. heavyweight champion Ryan Bader at Bellator 300 due to a case of COVID-19.
As it turns out, Vassell said he’s still struggling with residual effects, like breathing problems during training.
“I know I been quite [sic], but I wanted to let everyone know that I ended up catching Covid on Thursday, the week before the fight, I was bed bound for 4 straight days,” Vassell wrote on Instagram. “I was still sick the day I actually pulled out, and still not fully recovered. It was a hard choice to make knowing I’ve trained so hard and waited so long for this moment to come, but I had to be smart and think of my health, I wouldn’t have be 100% come fight night, and even today I’m still finding it hard to do light training without getting out of breath. First things first I will get better, then we can make a new plan. I will be back real soon people I promise that, this is just a minor bump in the road. The journey still continues.”
Vassell, 40, may not get another crack at Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA), who was removed from the card all together. Bellator 300 may have been the final event in the promotion’s history with uncertainty looming about it’s scheduled Bellator 301 card.
Regardless, Vassell is on one of the best streaks of his career. Midway through 2019, he was on a three-fight skid but Vassell scratched and clawed his way to a five-fight winning streak. He most recently competed in March when he finished former title challenger Valentin Moldavsky in Round 1.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
