Broken Rib, Torn Oblique Forces Leah McCourt to Withdraw from Bellator 302

Injuries suffered in sparring have forced Leah McCourt to pull out of a proposed featherweight clash against Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 302.

McCourt announced the news Tuesday in a post on social media. McCourt vs. Kavanagh was scheduled to be the Bellator 302 co-main event. It’s currently unknown if Kavanagh will remain on the March 22 card against a replacement opponent.

“Devastated to have to write this and let you know during a sparring accident, I sustained a broken rib and torn oblique. I cannot get medically cleared to fight nor could I physically be able to fight in Belfast. This may require surgery and will know more in the next few weeks,” McCourt wrote.”The muscle has been ripped from the bone and the pain is excruciating. When I didn’t get the title fight, I asked what fight wanted, it was this so especially disappointed.

“I don’t understand the heartbreak and pain of circumstances of everything that’s happened so far this year, but I trust God’s plan that all these things are part of something big and better ahead. I have fought with torn ligaments, blown out knees, everything, and this is the first time an injury has been too serious to be able to fight, as I [was] warned the break could puncture an organ if I don’t do as [the] surgeon has requested and have total rest. I will do everything I can to return as soon as possible.”

pic.twitter.com/bEig8IYjiF

— Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) February 20, 2024

McCourt and Kavanagh first fought at Bellator 275, with Kavanagh winning a unanimous decision in February 2022. The 31-year-old McCourt, who hails from Belfast, Northern Ireland, is coming off a first-round TKO of former UFC bantamweight title challenger Sara McMann at Bellator 300 this past October.

Bellator 302 takes place at SSE Arena in Belfast and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship bout between Corey Anderson and Karl Moore.