Renan Barao withdrew from his rematch with reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 177 on Saturday after the challenger went ill while cutting weight on Friday.

UFC president Dana White said on Friday that Barao, who is looking to reclaim the title he lost during their first fight in May, was taken to a hospital after he fainted during his weight cut and was ruled ineligible to fight on Saturday night's card.

"He was cutting weight and he fainted," White said via ESPN. "They got freaked out, and they did the right thing. They called an ambulance to come get him."

White expressed disappointment over the unfortunate development, which was another blow to UFC after the original main event was moved to UFC 178 after Jon Jones withdrew from his title defense against Daniel Cormier.

Dillashaw will still defend his title against Joe Soto, who agreed to replace Barao in the UFC 177 main event that will take place at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.

Dillashaw, who dominated Barao in their first fight en route to a fifth-round knockout win, accused Barao of making excuses, saying that the 27-year-old Brazilian is just afraid of him.

"He's scared, you know?" Dillashaw said via Yahoo Sports. "He don't want it. His coaches wanted the rematch more than he did. He's made this weight before and it's funny he didn't want to do it now."

Soto, who is a former Bellator 145-pound kingpin, was originally scheduled to face Anthony Birchak in one of the preliminary fights on Saturday.

The 27-year-old, who will be making his UFC debut, received a call from a promotion's matchmaker on Friday night and he did not hesitate to accept the title shot against Dillashaw.

"I was lying on the floor in my rest room naked, cooling off on the tiles, and a UFC number was calling me," Soto said via UFC.com. "I was like 'man, what is this about?' And they called me downstairs and asked me if I wanted the shot. And I said I'll take it."

Soto added that he is aware of how tough Dillashaw is after training with him before, but the Porterville, California native vowed to be at his best to pull off a huge upset.

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