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Romero out of Johnson fight, withdraws from Bellator grand prix

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Yoel Romero has been pulled from his highly anticipated fight against Anthony Johnson after failing his pre-fight medical screening, Bellator officials told CBS Sports' Brian Campbell on Thursday.

The former UFC fighter is dealing with an eye issue, ESPN's Ariel Helwani reports.

Romero was scheduled to face "Rumble" in the Bellator 258 co-main event on May 7 in the last quarterfinal bout of the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. The former UFC title challenger has been forced to withdraw from the tournament altogether.

Jose Augusto Azevedos Barros will replace Romero against Johnson in the quarterfinals at Bellator 258, Helwani added.

"Romero will become eligible to reapply for clearance to compete in three months, and we look forward to seeing him make his Bellator debut in the near future," the promotion said in a statement, according to Campbell. "Bellator MMA will look to reschedule the highly anticipated Johnson versus Romero matchup at a future date."

Johnson and Romero, two former UFC contenders, both recently signed with Bellator and were set to make their respective promotional debuts against each other.

Johnson, 37, hasn't stepped into the cage since he retired from mixed martial arts after a loss to Daniel Cormier in a UFC light heavyweight title bout in April 2017. He announced his intention to return to the sport last summer.

Romero, 44, parted ways with the UFC months after losing to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title clash last March.

The winner of the bout between Johnson and his to-be-determined opponent will move on to face light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov in the semifinals.

A bantamweight title fight between champion Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis is set to headline the May 7 event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

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