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Veteran British striker Paul Daley missed weight for his bout at Bellator 247 and was then transported to a hospital.
Tomorrow’s Bellator 247 has lost its main event after Paul Daley was hospitalized with illness following the official weigh-ins early this morning. Daley did hit the scales for the event, but he came in 2.6 lbs over the welterweight limit.
Daley’s scheduled opponent, Derek Anderson, did make weight.
Gareth Davis was on the ground for the event, in Milan, Italy. He tweeted video showing a Bellator official relaying information to the gathered media while it was still unclear if Daley would be able to compete.
Fight is OFF: Paul Daley leaves weighins on a stretcher to hospital and fight with Derek Anderson is OFF. Confirmed as official to me by commissioner Brandon Morse.#bellatormilan
— Gareth A Davies (@GarethADaviesDT) September 30, 2020
Davis later reported that the fight was officially canceled and that Daley was taken from the weigh-in venue to hospital on a stretcher.
Bellator 247 is the promotion’s first overseas event since the COVID-19 pandemic forced governments across the world to ban mass gatherings. The event, in Milan, which was one of the areas of the world hardest hit by the virus, was scheduled to take place without a live audience.
With Daley and Anderson off the card, the new main event is Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Laid Zerhouni.
For Daley this is his third fight in a row to be canceled. His previous two canceled bouts featured Sabah Homasi. Those two were originally scheduled to fight at Bellator 232, but Homasi withdrew due to injury. The pair were then matched for Bellator 241 an event that was canceled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.