The rematch between Tank Abbott and Dan Severn is not going to happen.
The fight was scheduled to take place this Sunday (March 20, 2016) on the UR Fight card in Phoenix, AZ, at Celebrity Theatre, but Abbott, 50, did not pass his pre-fight physical with the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission.
The promotion is currently seeking a replacement. MMAFighting’s Marc Raimondi reported the news on Thursday after speaking with a spokesman from UR Fight.
MMAmania.com reported the fight was in jeopardy on Wednesday evening.
Tried to set up Tank Abbot interview. His GF just informed me the fight may not happen now due to an issue with medicals that has arisen
— Michael Stets (@Michael_Stets) March 17, 2016
Severn, 57, was originally scheduled to face Ken Shamrock, but Shamrock is under 90-day suspension from the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration due to a failed drug test after his Bellator 149 loss to Royce Gracie, which took place back in February.
Abbott and Severn first met in the Octagon back in 1995 at The Ultimate Ultimate. Severn won that bout by unanimous decision and went on to defeat Oleg Taktarov in the final to win the night’s tournament. “The Beast” hasn’t competed since 2012, when he won a decision over Alex Rozman on a regional card in Iowa. Abbott last fought in 2013, losing by technical knockout to Ruben Villareal in King of the Cage.
UR Fight will also feature a grappling match between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping and a wrestling bout between Rey Mesterio and Kurt Angle (more on that here).