Report: Louis Taylor Won’t Compete in 2019 PFL, After Not Being Medically Cleared

The Professional Fighters League has lost a key player for its upcoming, 2019 season, as 2018 winner Louis Taylor will no longer compete.

Taylor was expected to fight in the promotion’s welterweight tourney this year, after winning last year’s middleweight competition and $1 million dollars. But, recently ESPN reported that the 39-year-old Taylor has not been medically cleared by the New York Commission to fight. No additional details were disclosed by the PFL or the commission.

In addition, Taylor recently posted out this:

View this post on Instagram

PSA: Thank You So Much @pflmma @sugarraysefo for giving me the chance to compete 2018 & 2019 unfortunately Life throws curve balls and I will not be competing this season. I’ve searched my entire career for a home in MMA so I’ll be watching as a fan Next Thursday May 9th. PFL on ESPN is Going to be Amazing!

A post shared by Louis Taylor (@putthegunsdowntaylor) on May 1, 2019 at 9:15pm PDT

In the aforementioned story, Taylor was quoted saying the following:

“I’m not trying to distract from this PFL season, especially right now,” Taylor said. “I don’t really want to speak on it until the season is going. I don’t want to distract from this inaugural event they got going. It’s gonna be a great season. I don’t want to cast any negativity their way. I want PFL to get everything they’re trying to build towards. They gave me a platform.”

So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully, Taylor’s not sidelined for too long. The veteran fighter is on a six-fight, undefeated streak, and the last man to beat him was David Branch, who did so in 2016.