Todhunter, who left active duty in 2009 and fights using "The Sniper" nickname, told Army Times on Wednesday that his cut would be substantial: more than 40 pounds in less than 10 days. He said he was down from 211 "into the 180s" at the time and could feel himself "drying out," but had no other ill effects.
In a statement posted Friday, Todhunter's management team said "the UFC doctor deemed him unable to compete" and apologized to the promotion and fans for "this unfortunate situation." Multiple mixed martial arts news outlets reported Friday that Todhunter had passed out while attempting the cut.
Todhunter is 7-0 in his mixed martial arts career, with all wins coming by submission. He's been fighting primarily in the 185-pound class but took the fight on the UFC 188 card in a lower weight division after Tumenov's original opponent, Hector Urbina, withdrew with an injury.
The fight was to be the first of a four-fight contract. Todhunter, who left service as a corporal after suffering a hand injury during a deployment to Iraq, said he'd starting filling out paperwork to rejoin the Army as an officer just days before hearing from the UFC.
