Scotland versus England battle cancelled after cage fighters floored by 'man flu'

Cage fighters were said to have been too ill to take part in 'Bannockburn: Part II'

Billed as "Bannockburn: Part II", the Ultimate Fighting event was scheduled for Meadowbank Stadium on Saturday and was due to feature Scottish and English mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters facing off.

Dubbed "The Auld Enemy" clash, it was also set to be opened with a rousing rendition of Flower of Scotland by Corries star and Hampden stalwart Ronnie Brown.

But today Scottish promoter Team Munro Boxing Promotions said it had been cancelled after a bout of "man flu".

The event's English promoter said "missed deadlines" were to blame.

Scottish Promoter Bob Munro said: "The fight has been held back because of a flu epidemic in the team camp. They're battling through it, but one of the fighters has a serious bout of 'man flu', which is amusing considering they're supposed to be tough fighters.

"Four of them train in the same gym so they must have infected each other."

The fight's English promoter, fledgling fight company Kudegra led by Wearside-based promoter Barry Ahmed, blamed "missed deadlines" by other outsourced companies involved in the organisation.

Mr Ahmed steadfastly denied that "The Auld Enemy" has been postponed due to flu.

He said: "I really wish it was that simple. If that was the case we would have just replaced the ill fighters and put someone else on the card.

"The fight was cancelled due to internal stuff which I can't comment on. It's a delicate situation and I don't want to fuel any flames. We hope to return to Scotland in December. We were scuppered by quite a unique set of circumstances.

"The people who have got tickets have been given a range of options, including a full refund, and they are of course transferable to our next fight.

"I don't know how many tickets were sold. It wasn't a sell out but it was looking good."

One of the fighters James "The Nightmair" Mair, from Woodburn in Dalkeith, refuted the man flu claims, saying he has been in constant touch with all of the fighters.

He said: "I know most of the guys on the card. Everybody was prepared and ready to fight for the fans who have bought their tickets.

"The message I received was that they had outsourced part of the business to other companies which failed to meet their deadlines. "I don't know anything more beyond that.

"I've been training hard, and eating a special diet for weeks for the fight, and luckily I've managed to secure another fight that day, a Total Combat bout in Sunderland, but I feel sorry for the other fighters who have trained really hard and won't have anything to show for it.

"I'm sure they will console themselves with a drink, a decent dinner and all of the other things you miss out on when you're training for a big match like this."