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Rachael Ostovich out of Paige VanZant Fight Due to Injuries from Alleged Assault
November 20, 2018
Rachael Ostovich has been pulled from her scheduled Jan. 19 UFC fight with Paige VanZant due to injuries suffered in an alleged assault.
Ostovich's management company, Suckerpunch Entertainment, released the following statement Tuesday on Instagram:
"A very unfortunate incident occurred Sunday night with Rachael Ostovich that ended with her suffering a fractured orbital and other injuries. As a result of these injuries she will not be able to compete in her upcoming bout with Paige VanZant on January 19th. Rachael is now home from the hospital with her family and will be going back for further check ups on her orbital. The family would like to ask for some privacy as they sort through this matter. We would like to thank the UFC for all their support on this matter as well as the fans and media for your concern."
According to Damon Martin of MMA Weekly, Honolulu police are investigating the assault as a domestic violence case.
Per TMZ Sports, Ostovich was hospitalized as a result of the attack before being released.
TMZ Sports also reported that the alleged attacker is "someone close to her."
Martin added that Ostovich and VanZant were set to clash in Brooklyn, New York, on the first-ever UFC card to air on ESPN.
The 27-year-old Ostovich is a Hawaii native who sports a career 4-4 record as a professional mixed martial artist.
In 2017, Ostovich appeared on The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion. She defeated Melinda Fabian in the first round of a tournament to crown a UFC women's flyweight champion before falling to Barb Honchak in the quarterfinals.
Most recently, Ostovich lost to Montana de la Rosa by submission on the finale of the 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter in July.
UFC has yet to announce a replacement opponent for VanZant, but the Jan. 19 card is also scheduled to feature Belal Muhammad vs. Geoff Neal, Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba and Alonzo Menifield vs. Vinicius Castro.