How accepting UFC 290 short-notice fight saved fighter from RARE ‘moyamoya’ brain disease!

Josiah Harrell had to pull out of his debut against Jack Della Maddalena due to a rare disease.

How accepting UFC 290 short-notice fight saved fighter from RARE ‘moyamoya’ brain disease!

Jack Maddlena Josiah Harrell (Image Courtesy- ITN WWE, Perth Now)

The fight scheduled between Josiah Harrell and Jack Della Maddalena has been cancelled due to Harrell being diagnosed with a rare brain disease. This disease is known as the ‘moyamoya’ disease, which is a rare, cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain. This is the second time Maddalena’s bout is being cancelled.

Harrell’s manager Maurice Blanco revealed that his UFC 290 pre-fight weigh-in MRI was the reason for his life being saved. The disease (moyamoya) was then diagnosed and he will undergo brain surgery soon. Harrell is not the first fighter to be diagnosed with moyamoya disease; in 2019, Vince Murdock had also been diagnosed and still went on to fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWOnFvoJfiM

Jack Della Maddalena is a promising welterweight prospect who is on a 14-fight win streak and has only 2 losses in his career. He was originally expected to fight Sean Brady but an injury forced Brady to pull out of the fight. Maddalena’s last fight was against Randy Brown at UFC 284 where he won via submission. Harrell, on the other hand, was ready to debut against Maddalena but unfortunately had to withdraw.

UFC 290 is right around the corner featuring two title fights between Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez for the Featherweight championship. Brandon Moreno vs Alexander Pantoja for the Flyweight championship, and a middleweight clash that promises fireworks, which is Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis.

Related: When and where to watch UFC 290

Kevin Holland offers to fight Jack Della Maddalena on 0 days notice!

kevin holland (moyamoya)
Kevin Holland (Credits: MMA Fighting)

Kevin Holland is one of the most active fighters in the UFC. He just ended his two-fight losing streak by defeating Santiago Pozinibbio at UFC 287 with a dominant KO victory. He is known for being a loudmouth and entertaining both inside and outside the ring. He first rose to recognition during the Dana white contender series

Holland recently offered to fight Maddalena on 0 days’ notice when Brady pulled out at a 175lb catchweight fight while still having a fight against Michael Chiesa scheduled at UFC 291. Maddalena had been offered to fight a lot of other fighters as well, such as Joaquin Buckley and Chris Curtis, but rather chose to fight debutant Josiah Harrell.

When asked about his decision in an interview with The MMA Hour Maddalena replied “They were names that were flying around and I was pretty keen, I was pretty keen to fight anyone really,”.

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