Why doesn’t Vémola go with Xavier? They threw it in the trash! I thought it was their chance of a lifetime, Novotny said

Karlos Vémola has temporarily moved up to the 93kg weight class, where he wants to win the title. He was supposed to have a fight with Rafael Xavier, but he will end up fighting Aleksandar Ilic. Why this change? The reason was explained by promoter Ondrej Novotny.

It was given clearly in advance. Karlos Vémola wanted the welterweight title and the organization gave him the condition that he had to beat Marko and then his opponent in Germany at 93.

He stopped Michal Pasternak in the first round and it was certain that he would go for the title at Štvanici. His opponent was supposed to be Rafael Xavier, but he turned it down at the last minute.

“The moment Rafael got his last win, I told his manager that Karlos was starting to shout that he wanted the title, so if he can handle Marko and fellow Pole Pasternak, we have a fight. I thought everything was clear.

I texted him again on June 2 and suddenly, some people go on vacation and Rafael came in saying he wouldn’t be able to get ready, which shocked me. I thought it was their chance of a lifetime. He’s eager to get to the UFC and he could now go against a dude who’s 48th in the world at the moment.

But Rafael threw it in the trash because he said he can’t put a team together to prepare and that it’s rushed. I told him it was 8 weeks and that we knew all along. They took 2 days to think about it and finally threw it in the trash, which, I admit, burned my pond a little bit,“ said Ondrej Novotny in MMA Flight Around the World.

Vemola had to look for a new opponent, and he eventually put himself forward. Thirty-three-year-old Serbian Aleksandar Ilic challenged him.

The fighter nicknamed Joker has a 13:4 record and will go straight for the title in his first fight under the Oktagon banner. And it’s certainly not easy for Vemola.

Source: MMA Around the World