UFC bantamweight veteran Louis Smolka explained why he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Sean O’Malley at UFC 264.

Smolka and O’Malley were expected to kick off the pay-per-view portion of this weekend’s blockbuster UFC 264 card, but “Da Last Samurai” was forced to pull out of the fight last week. Instead of fighting Smolka, O’Malley now faces off against UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho. It’s a disappointing turn of events, and Smolka took to his Instagram to explain exactly why he is not able to fight.

According to Smolka, he has a staph infection and was deemed medically unfit to compete, which led to him withdrawing from the fight. Check out what he shared on his social media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQw7e9WLXFP/

Louis Smolka: I was really excited for this fight. Being from Hawai’i, I have that jus scrap mentality so if it were solely up to me, I’d still fight. But, I have an infection so unfortunately I’ve been deemed medically unfit. It sucks, but we have to be responsible about my health and the health of my training partners and opponent. I understand that Sean is set to stay on the card so I wish him the best. I’m sure we will see each other down the line. This is a bummer, but it’s the reality of fight camps and continuous training. We are optimistic that we can get a new date set for you all when my infection clears. Thank you to my family, the @ufc, my managers, nutritionist, coaches, team, and the fans for the help and support. I appreciate you all very much. We are known for turning setbacks into comebacks, so that’s the plan.

Despite Smolka’s reasoning for why he pulled out of the fight, O’Malley later suggested that there was a conspiracy theory and that he pulled out because he didn’t want to lose.

Who do you want to see Louis Smolka fight when he is healthy enough to return to the Octagon?