John Gotti III forced out of CES MMA 59 with eye infection

Rising prospect John Gotti III will have to wait a little longer to step into the cage for his fifth professional fight.

Gotti (4-0), a rising undefeated welterweight, was scheduled to face Florida’s Marcos Lloreda (6-5) on the main card of CES MMA 59. However, an eye infection has forced the grandson of the infamous Italian-American gangster of the same name out of the matchup.

CES MMA 59 takes place Friday at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The main card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

Gotti’s father and manager, John Gotti Jr., issued a statement on his son’s withdrawal via a CES press release Tuesday:

“He’s brokenhearted. He had an amazing training camp. We had [UFC veteran] Dante Rivera in this camp with us and he brought in some UFC fighters to train with John. He helped get John in top shape… Saturday was when he had the problem with the eye. We thought it would be good in two days, but it is a viral infection. It’s a complete different protocol now. The kid is heartbroken. He wants to fight. He put so much energy into this. He’s a warrior. He’d fight with one arm if he could.”

In his first four pro bouts, Gotti hasn’t been in a second round. He’s won each of his fights by first-round TKO in a combined time of 6:26. In his most recent outing at CES MMA 56 in May, Gotti finished David Espino by slam and punches.

CES 59 will continue on with Dana White’s Contender Series development deal recipient William Knight, as well as DWCS and “The Ultimate Fighter” veteran Greg Rebello, and longtime CES contender Dinis Paiva Jr.