Bisping noticed something was wrong with Holloway during interview: He looked a ‘little sleepy’

Saturday’s UFC 226 pay-per-view suffered a big blow on Wednesday when it was revealed that reigning featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced to pull out of his co-headlining bout with Brian Ortega due to ‘concussion-like symptoms’.

Holloway’s team reported that ‘Blessed’ was rushed to hospital on Monday and was suffering with slurred speech and impaired vision. The Hawaiian’s symptoms started before his weight cut for UFC 226, which makes his case a little concerning.

Holloway stayed the night in hospital but was released the next day and is reported to have ‘crashed’ after the open workouts on Wednesday and was very difficult to wake up. That’s when Holloway, 26, noticed his slurred speech and flashing vision and made the decision to pull out of UFC 226. The champ is now back in hospital for further tests.

One of the people outside of Holloway’s team who noticed that something was a little off with the featherweight titleholder was former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping, who pointed out that Holloway looked ‘a little sleepy’ during his interview on UFC Tonight.

“You say you feel great, and don’t be offended when I say this, but you look like you just got out of bed,” Bisping said to Holloway, per Sherdog.com’s Tristen Critchfield. “Are you tired, what’s going on, how’s the weight cut? Are you drained? You look a little sleepy.”

Holloway, who did look notably lethargic, laughed off Bisping’s comments and denied anything was wrong.

“I’m good man. A little bit tired. They got me doing a bunch of media stuff, but I’ll be fine, Holloway responded. “I can’t wait. I can’t wait to go out there and do the damn thing.”

Holloway’s opponent, Ortega, is aware of the news but there is no word on whether ‘T-City’ will stay on the card or whether the UFC is looking for a replacement. The breakout contender was originally expected to challenge Holloway for the featherweight title.

UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier takes place this Saturday, July 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.