Louis Smolka is hopeful he’ll get rebooked with Sean O’Malley in the future after he was forced to pull out of their scheduled bout at UFC 264 on Saturday.

Smolka (17-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) recently broke his silence on pulling out of the bantamweight bout with O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), and said the decision was out of his hands. He wanted to compete, but revealed that an infection prevented him from receiving medical clearance.

“The Last Samurai” posted a statement on social media explaining the situation, and said he hopes another opportunity to fight O’Malley comes his way in the future (via Instagram):

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A post shared by Louis Smolka (@lastsamuraiufc)

I was really excited for this fight. Being from Hawai’i, I have that jus scrap mentality so if it were solely up to me, I’d still fight. But, I have an infection so unfortunately I’ve been deemed medically unfit. It sucks, but we have to be responsible about my health and the health of my training partners and opponent. I understand that Sean is set to stay on the card so I wish him the best. I’m sure we will see each other down the line.

This is a bummer, but it’s the reality of fight camps and continuous training. We are optimistic that we can get a new date set for you all when I my infection clears.

Thank you to my family, the @ufc, my managers, nutritionist, coaches, team, and the fans for the help and support. I appreciate you all very much. We are known for turning setbacks into comebacks, so that’s the plan.

Smolka did not specify the exact nature of his infection, or how long it will take for him to make a full recovery.

In the meantime, Smolka was replaced by octagon newcomer Kris Moutinho (9-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in the fight with O’Malley, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.