The much-anticipated UFC debut of Jessie Rosas will have to wait a little longer. After months of hype surrounding the fighter, Raul Rosas Jr.‘s older brother has come across an unexpected hurdle just hours before UFC Vegas 120 weigh-ins.

‘Tachidito’ was removed from his featherweight fight against 15-5 fighter Miles Johns this weekend at the Meta Apex after a UFC doctor refused to clear him medically. According to the Rosas family, the whole situation came down to what they claimed to be a simple glove scratch or mat burn on Jessie’s forehead.

“UFC doctor pulled my brother out of his fight,” Raul Rosas Jr. wrote on his Instagram story. “Due to a glove scratch in his forehead, as he believes it’s an infection. We did what we could, got approval from 2 doctors everything was okay, but the UFC doctor made the call.

“There’s nothing we can do; my brother was ready. Things happen for a reason, God’s plan. His time will come.”

Jessie Rosas later released his own statement on Instagram, claiming he was devastated after doing everything he could to save the contest.

“So as you guys know, I was forced to pull out due to a glove scratch on the forehead,” the 23-year-old wrote. “I tried doing everything in my hands to try to keep this fight even got approved by two different doctors, but at the end of the day the UFC doctor has the last call.

“Sorry to all the people that wanted to see me fight. I’m upset on how things played out, especially this close to the fight, but f— it things happen for a reason the only thing I can do is just stay ready; my time will come.”

The debutant’s father also backed the UFC doctor’s decision to force his son to withdraw while confirming the reason behind the move.

“Guys, unfortunately, we haven’t been cleared from the mat burn on the forehead, as the UFC doctor considers it a health risk for the fighters,” he wrote on Instagram. “Therefore, we were pulled from the fight to prioritize the safety and well-being of their athletes.

“Thanks for all the support and love. @eljessierosas UFC debut is coming soon.”

Despite the 23-year-old being pulled from his much-hyped fight, his opponent, Miles Johns, remains on the card. And as per MMA reporter Marcel Dorff, the promotion has found a short-notice replacement in Gianni Vazquez. ‘Kriptonita’ last fought in the UFC in a forgettable debut against Javid Basharat in February.

Since then, he has tried to stay active by winning his fight against Kamron Ortikov at Combate Global. Interestingly, apart from the Miles Johns fight, he is also booked to face Adrian Garcia at LFA 239 on August 21st.

So, it clearly looks like the 14-5 fighter has the perfect opportunity to prove his mettle in MMA with some serious back-to-back wins. But for Jessie Rosas, the timing couldn’t have been much worse.

Jessie Rosas misses a huge chance to step out of Raul Rosas Jr.’s shadow

After three consecutive victories to improve his MMA record to 8-1, Jessie Rosas had finally received the UFC call he had been wanting. Even better, this wasn’t a Contender Series appearance or a development opportunity; it was a direct shot on a UFC card.

Speaking prior to the withdrawal, ‘Tachidito’ confessed that the phone call came out of nowhere.

“My manager called me; he FaceTime’d me,” Rosas told MMA Fighting. “It was like 9 [a.m.] in the morning. I was on my way to training, and he told me, ‘You’ve got a fight next week.’ I was like, “Hell yeah.” I was excited. He was like, ‘UFC debut next week in the APEX,’ and oh s— let’s do it. No hesitation.

“It was more like oh s— this is cool.'” Because on a week’s [notice] you can’t really do much, you can’t really change much. It’s basically just going in there and fighting.”

Of course, the first thing many fans noticed was his last name. Ever since Raul Rosas Jr. made his UFC debut as a teenager, Jessie has been referred to as “Raul Rosas’ brother,” despite being the older sibling. But he never had an issue with the label.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Jessie Rosas said. “I’ll take it if that’s what they want to know me for. In the future, they’ll know me for winning fights.”

Ironically, this debut gave him the opportunity to start doing just that. In fact, he was already thinking beyond UFC Vegas 120. Assuming he won, Jessie planned to continue being active by being a part of either Noche UFC in September or UFC 331 in Los Angeles, where he could potentially share a card with Raul for the first time.

“If everything goes as planned this week, then I would like to get on either the Noche [UFC] card or the L.A. card [UFC 331],” he added. “It would be exciting to at least share a card with my brother if possible.”

Instead, that dream is currently on hold. The good news for ‘Tachidito’ is that the injury wasn’t a very serious one. So, if the wound heals quickly, the UFC may simply reschedule his promotional debut, giving him another chance to present himself to fans as more than Raul Rosas Jr.’s older brother.

But till then, there is no denying that he has missed out on a real big opportunity to carve out a name for himself, one away from the rising bantamweight prospect.