Yoel Romero withdraws from Polaris 28 grappling match for unusual reason one day before the event

Yoel Romero was set to take on judo black belt Owen Livesey in the main event of submission grappling event Polaris 28. However, the day before the event, which takes place on June 15, the Cuban was forced to withdraw from the bout.

According to the official Polaris Instagram account, Romero could not travel to England, where the event will be held, due to extreme weather conditions, which canceled his flights.

Livesey will now face Baissangour Chamsoudinov instead. Chamsoudinov accepted the grappling match on less than a day's notice.

'Soldier of God' has yet to release a statement about his unfortunate and untimely withdrawal, which has no doubt left fans disappointed after the promise of two grappling giants going to battle.

Polaris posted the following on Instagram:

"Due to severe storms and flight cancellations Yoel Romero has been forced to withdraw from Polaris 28. Stepping in on late notice is MMA star @baysangur. Fresh off his historic win against Cedric Doumbe at PFL Paris, Baki has signed on to face Polaris fan favourite @owenlivesey on 1 days notice. Can Owen get his biggest win to date or is Baki set to upset the hometown hero?"

See Polaris' post below:

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Owen Livesey reflects on Yoel Romero's late withdrawal from Polaris 28

Owen Livesey, one of the UK's best submission grapplers, was hoping to prove he could match Yoel Romero's physicality while showing himself to be the better grappler of the two.

Both men hold gold medals at the World Championships for their respective disciplines, namely judo and freestyle wrestling, and their clash would certainly have produced fireworks.

But Romero's withdrawal left Livesey to appear at the Polaris 28 pre-event press conference alone, while promoters scrambled to find a short-notice replacement.

Fortunately, one was found in the shape of PFL welterweight Baissangour Chamsoudinov - who infamously handed Cedric Doumbe his first MMA defeat earlier this year.

During the recent press conference, Livesey shared his thoughts on 'Soldier of God' being forced out of their anticipated clash, saying this:

"Obviously it's been a little bit mental, it's the first time in anything that I've done that I've had a pull-out... I found it a bit strange."

Watch Owen Livesey discuss Yoel Romero's withdrawal below: