Dhafir Harris — better known as Dada 5000 — will not be making his return to action as originally planned. According to a report from MMA Fighting, the Florida commission did not clear him to compete at BYB 13: “Tampa Brawl For It All” on Nov. 19 in Tampa, Fla., against Matthew Strickland.
The reason behind the decision is because Harris is currently on an indefinite suspension in Texas stemming from his forgettable technical knockout (TKO) loss to Kimbo Slice in 2016.
Harris (45) was carried out on a stretcher afterward and it was later discovered that he had suffered not one, but two, heart attacks during the fight, which co-headlined Bellator 149 in Houston, Texas. Soon thereafter, he was also put on dialysis as a result of kidney failure.
Six and a half years removed from that loss, Harris’s comeback has been delayed and there is no telling if another commission will ever license him to fight again. No word on if the promotion will find a replacement for Strickland on less than a month’s notice.