The marquee bout of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix is off as Yoel Romero's (13-5) fight with Anthony Johnson has been shelved for Bellator 258 as Romero wasn't able to pass pre-fight medical testing.
It is unknown as to why Romero failed the screening. Johnson will remain in the tournament against an unknown opponent. CBS Sports was the first to report the news.
"Yoel Romero did not clear pre-fight medical testing, and as a result, his Bellator MMA debut against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has been postponed," Bellator said in a statement that was obtained by DAZN News.
"Bellator will confirm a tournament alternate to face "Rumble" Johnson in the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix as soon as possible.
"Bellator 258: Archuleta vs. Pettis will go on as scheduled on Friday, May 7.vThe event features the Bellator bantamweight world championship main event between champion Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis, a welterweight bout pitting Michael "Venom" Page against Derek Anderson, and a lightweight tilt between Patricky "Pitbull" and Peter Queally. Additional fights for the main card are to be announced.
"Romero will become eligible to reapply for clearance to compete in the coming months, and we look forward to seeing him make his Bellator debut in the near future. Bellator MMA will look to reschedule the highly anticipated Johnson versus Romero matchup at a future date."
The 44-year-old was set to make his promotional debut after coming to Bellator in December. "The Soldier of God" had a 13-fight stint in the UFC, where he went 9-4 and competed three times for the middleweight title but came up short.
Like Romero, Johnson (22-6) is going to be making his Bellator debut. He hasn't fought since retiring after losing a light heavyweight title fight to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in April 2017.