Ian Garry is OUT of UFC 296 after suffering from pneumonia, with showdown against Vicente Luque scrapped after chaotic build-up for Irish rising star

Ian Garry has been forced to pull out of his UFC 296 showdown with Vicente Luque due to pneumonia. 

Garry, who did not show up to media day obligations on Wednesday, confirmed the fight is off and said: 'I have pneumonia. They tried everything to help me. In the end, UFC doctor said there's no chance I can fight.  

'The UFC doctor made the call. … This annoys me more than anyone. I want to fight. It's my favorite thing to do.'

His opponent Vicente Luque responded: 'First of all, I wish the best recovery. Speedy recovery for him, and the best for his family – and it's really unfortunate.

'I was so ready for this fight. I've had a great training camp. Anybody that sees me on social media sees a little bit of what I've been doing. They know how ready I am for this fight. Weight cut has been going so, so good – the easiest weight cut I've ever had in my career. 

'I have all my team here supporting me. A lot of guys came out in this fight. A lot of people supported me to come watch the fight, as well, and unfortunately it's not going to happen.

'It's out of my control. Everything that I could do, everything that I have control of in my job and really put my heart into this, I did. I gave it my all. Unfortunately, we cannot really control everything. 

'As I said, I wish the best. I wish recovery for Ian. Now it's time for me to rest. I did have a hard training camp.'