Bethe
Correia is well aware of the eye issues that have plagued her
during her career, but she claims she took the necessary steps to
be able to compete at
UFC 227.
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Nonetheless, the Las Vegas-based promotion announced Tuesday that
Brazilian bantamweight had been pulled from her bout with Irene
Aldana on Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Correia was previously scheduled to face Aldana at UFC Fight Night
St. Louis in January but had to withdraw from the event to undergo
eye surgery. She later
underwent a second procedure this year that further delayed her
Octagon retina.
Correia’s eye issues date back to a detached retina suffered in
2014, an injury which also required surgery. Still, the former
title challenger is adamant that she received the necessary
clearance to compete.
“I went through several ophthalmologists’ part of the Brazilian
Society of Ophthalmology. I took care of my health and my eye
integrity, even being released by the doctors before the trip. I
have current reports from [three] doctors who have been following
me since the beginning, reporting that I am released to fight,”
Correia wrote on Instagram. “I acted with dignity! I've been, and
I'm loyal! I'm fully aware that I can train and compete! Retinal
displacement is a common problem in a contact sport, and many
fighters have had it, that is so true that in my last [five] MMA
fights, I had already undergone retinal detachment surgery,
including the one against Ronda competing for the world title in
2015.”
While Correia blamed the California State Athletic Commission for
her removal, both CSAC executive officer Andy Foster
and a UFC official confirmed to
MMAFighting.com that it was the promotion that deemed Correia
medically unfit to compete.
“I just want to say that I'm ready! Trained, focused, strong, in
the right weight to any fight and to any event they choose,”
Correia wrote. “It was [four] months of camp, preparing myself,
training, sweating, bearing high expenses and it hurts too much,
with only [four days] left for the big day, receiving this news,
preventing me from fighting, even though I feel so well, so
prepared. I apologize to everyone for the words, but this
situation, in my whole career, is being the most difficult
one.”
