Garrett Armfield out of UFC Fight Night 213 vs. Christian Rodriguez with staph infection
It appears Garrett Armfield will have to wait a little longer to go after his first UFC win.
Armfield (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Monday posted on his Instagram stories and said he is out of his Saturday bout against Christian Rodriguez (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 213 due to a staph infection.
UFC officials have not announced Armfield’s withdrawal, and it is not known if Rodriguez will remain on the card against a short-notice replacement opponent. UFC Fight Night 213 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
“So some not so good news guys!” Armfield posted. “Late last week I woke up with an infection that required me to go to the hospital. The infection ended up being a MRSA Staph infection and I was prescribed two weeks of antibiotics. Due to how dangerous MRSA can be, it was advised to stop training, let the body recovery (sic) and wait to fight healthy.
“While it’s extremely disappointing to withdrawal from my fight, it was for the best. I put in months of hard work and sacrifice by not having a side job to fully focus on this dream. I am looking forward to getting back healthy and getting another fight scheduled. Hopefully sooner rather than later!”
Armfield made his UFC debut in July when he stepped in for Austin Lingo against David Onama. Onama was a massive 8-1 favorite in the fight and submitted Armfield with a second-round arm-triangle choke. Prior to that, Armfield had won six of his previous seven fights.
Rodriguez is looking to rebound from a loss in his UFC debut, as well. Coincidentally, Rodriguez also stepped in on short notice when Lingo pulled out of a February fight against Jonathan Pearce, who outworked the Roufusport product for a unanimous decision. The loss was Rodriguez’s first after a 7-0 start, including wins for Bellator, LFA and Dana White’s Contender Series.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 213 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen
- Max Griffin vs. Tim Means
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa
- Josh Fremd vs. Tresean Gore
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
- Roman Dolidze vs. Phil Hawes
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Joseph Holmes vs. Junyong Park
- Steve Garcia vs. Chase Hooper
- Cody Durden vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
- Christian Rodriguez vs. TBA
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 213.