A middleweight bout, which was set to open the main card for UFC Sao Paulo on November 4, 2023, was unexpectedly canceled at the last moment. During the preliminary card broadcast, just before what was supposed to be the featured preliminary fight, UFC announcers informed the viewers that the Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan fight had been removed from the event.
This decision was made due to Petrosyan falling ill, reportedly in the backstage area of the arena. While the broadcast team speculated on potential causes such as food poisoning or nervousness, the exact reason for Petrosyan’s ailment remained unclear at that point in time.
However, the official Instagram page of Petrosyan’s management company took to the social media platform to state in a now-deleted post that the Armenian fighter was poisoned and his sugar levels had dropped.
Arman Petrosyan “was seriously poisoned in Brazil” pic.twitter.com/107oN0086X
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) November 5, 2023
Reportedly, just before the fight, Arman complained of uneasiness. This led to his pulling out of the fight. The statement issued by them also reveals that his sugar levels are gradually coming back to normal. The UFC has also agreed to plan another fight for the Armenian fighter after his recovery has been taken care of.
Armen Petrosyan had been riding a two-fight winning streak leading up to his bout against the highly skilled submission artist, Rodolfo Vieira. In the lead-up to UFC Sao Paulo, the event had already encountered several setbacks, including the loss of a lightweight matchup between Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, as the latter failed to make weight for the fight on November 3, 2023.
Fans doubt if Armen Petrosyan was really poisoned
Reactions from the fans about Armen Petrosyan being poisoned before the fight are not something that he would have expected. According to some, the fighter was not really poisoned, and his condition was just a natural reaction from his body after the intense weight-cutting that he would have done to make weight for his fight against Rodolfo Vieira.
Wait.. all those times my blood sugar felt off… I had been poisoned?
This changes everything.
— Peter Richard (@cashfl0w2) November 5, 2023
“Sugar dropped while cutting weight = poisoned?” questioned a fan. “That’s not poison. That’s the body’s natural reaction to a lack of substance,” wrote another X user who feels Petrosyan’s sugar levels have dropped because of his weight-cutting, and it has nothing to do with him being poisoned. “Bro was scared,” wrote a fan who felt Armen might have pulled out of the fight at the last moment because of nervousness or fear.
Interestingly enough, the statement from the fighter’s management also stated that something similar happened with Russian fighter Roman Kopylov, who was also poisoned.