Is Yamato Nishikawa under contract with the UFC?

Yamato Nishikawa will no longer be fighting at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.

The Japanese mixed martial artist was set to make his debut as part of the organization's pay-per-view this weekend against Magomed Mustafaev. However, according to reports, contract-related issues forced the Japanese fighter to pull out of the fight.

Yamato Nishikawa is an MMA prodigy. At just 19 years old, he already has 30 professional bouts under his belt for various promotions, including Shooto, P4P FC, and Grachan.

Nishikawa started fighting at the age of 13 and is currently on a 14-fight winning streak. While he was looking to continue that run of form in the UFC this weekend, he will now have to wait longer to fulfill that dream.

According to MMA reporter Igor Lazorin, the youngster is still signed to another fight promotion, which is what caused the contractual issue. The UFC has not released an official statement regarding the reports.

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Yamato Nishikawa denies media reports after UFC 280 issue

Yamato Nishikawa released a statement denying reports in the media surrounding his failed debut booking.

While it was reported that a contract-related issue forced him to pull out of UFC 280, the Japanese mixed martial artist claims that the problem was from his opponent's side and that he does not have any contractual issue with the UFC.

The 19-year-old released a statement on social media saying:

“Fight got canceled due to my opponent’s reason. Overseas media is making up a story. I absolutely do not lie because I believe in Bushido spirit!”

Yamato Nishikawa blamed the overseas media for making up stories about a contractual issue. After a lot of 'false' information being spread about him, he decided to issue a statement and claim that it was Mustafaev who had an issue regarding the fight.

Neither the UFC nor the Russian have come out with an official statement regarding the fight.

Take a look at the tweet by MMA reporter Bruno Massami: