Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall was already shaping up to be one of the most chaotic crossover fight nights of the summer, but the Manchester card has now been rocked by a deeply concerning last-minute withdrawal.
Leah Gotti has officially pulled out of her scheduled bout against Lil Bellsy after doctors discovered a brain aneurysm during routine pre-fight medical checks.
The 29-year-old revealed the diagnosis herself in an emotional video posted to social media, explaining that what started as standard clearance scans quickly turned into something far more serious.
She said: “Routine brain scans to be cleared to fight ended up showing me something that I could have literally never even created in my brain as an option for me.
“My MRI and MRA showed an aneurysm in my brain. I was referred to a neurologist who ordered a CTA scan to see if it was an actual aneurysm or maybe it was like a variant.
“Like a normal variant because sometimes that happens. [But] Lo and behold, it is a real aneurysm.
“So I had to go see a neurosurgeon yesterday to talk about what’s next for me.”
Gotti was due to face influencer fighter Lil Bellsy on the June 13 Misfits Boxing card in Manchester, sitting underneath the headline clash between Fury and former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall.
But the medical discovery has now forced her out of combat sports indefinitely.
“Obviously, fighting and anything combat or anything that raises my heart, whether that be straining from lifting weights, sprinting, holding my breath, like anything like that, I cannot do.
“Because I risk thinning out the walls even more and possibly having a ruptured aneurysm, which would be very bad.”
The situation became even more emotional as Gotti admitted she has no clear picture of what comes next.
“I also have white matter lesions in my brain, so I’m gonna have to go and do a lot more tests,” she said. “I can’t fight and I can’t, I think I already said that, which is really sad like I’ve been working really hard and I really wanted to do that.
“But God has other plans for me. Obviously, my health is my everything.
“I have kids, like I can’t get injured. I can’t leave this Earth too early, I have things that I need to do.”
The former adult star, who became one of the most searched performers online during the peak of her career, appeared devastated while discussing the diagnosis and the uncertainty surrounding her future.
“I don’t really know what this means for the future for me. This is a super weird thing to try and navigate [and to] try and process.
“[I’m] trying to pretend like everything is fine and like not let myself get too upset.
“But to be honest, I don’t know anything [and] I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
Despite the late disruption, Misfits Boxing have moved quickly to keep the fight on the card.
Bellsy will now face Andy Nguyen instead, with the replacement stepping in on short notice ahead of the Manchester event.
Nguyen brings experience from both MMA and bare-knuckle boxing. The 44-year-old previously competed under the Bellator banner before moving into the BKFC and BKB scenes following her apparent MMA retirement in 2024.
She is also expected to be accompanied by five-time BKFC champion Britain Hart as part of her team.
Bellsy reacted to the news publicly after learning about Gotti’s diagnosis, offering support before immediately turning focus back to fight night.
“Firstly, I want to send my love, strength and prayers to Leah Gotti,” Bellsy wrote on X. “Health always comes first, and I wish her nothing but a full and speedy recovery as she focuses on getting well. While the opponent may have changed, the mission remains exactly the same.”
We wish Gotti the very best on her recovery.
Featured image credit: Instagram/MisfitsBoxing/YouTube/LeahGotti
