The UFC 249 pay-per-view event suffered a huge blow after Ronaldo ‘Jacare Souza’ tested positive for coronavirus, which forced the promotion to scrap his middleweight fight against Uriah Hall.
The world’s most prestigious mixed martial arts organization is set for a massive comeback this Saturday as it brings the revamped UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida, following the cancellation of its MMA shows last month.
To ensure the health and safety of the competing fighters, the UFC conducted an extensive testing earlier this week, with Souza’s result coming out positive on Friday as per initial report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
“Breaking: Jacare Souza has tested positive for Covid-19. His fight against Uriah Hall is off UFC 249. UFC 249 still planning to move forward, with consent of Florida commission per UFC,” the report said.
Effective Safety Measure
In a statement released by the UFC, it was revealed that Souza’s two cornermen also tested positive for COVID-19 while the rest of the fighters in the UFC 249 line up are given green light to compete.
“The middleweight bout between Uriah Hall vs Jacaré Souza will no longer be on the UFC 249 preliminary card due to one of Souza’s COVID-19 tests indicating a positive result,” the UFC said (via MMA Fighting).
“In addition, COVID-19 tests for Souza’s two cornermen were also flagged as positive. UFC’s medical team examined Souza and his two cornermen and found them to be currently asymptomatic, or not exhibiting the common symptoms of COVID-19. As per UFC’s health and safety protocols, all three men have left the host hotel and will be self-isolating off premises, where UFC’s medical team will monitor their conditions remotely and will provide assistance with any necessary treatment.”
“From their arrival earlier in the week until their departure today, Souza and his cornermen followed UFC health and safety protocols, including practicing social distancing, wearing personnel protective equipment, and self-isolating whenever possible.”
“There have been no other positive COVID-19 tests reported from the remaining athletes participating in UFC 249. The response to this development is indicative of the effectiveness of the health and safety measures UFC has put in place for this event.”
“Saturday’s UFC 249 card, which airs live on pay-per-view and is headlined by a battle for the interim lightweight title between No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and No. 4-ranked Justin Gaethje will proceed as scheduled with 11 bouts.
Check out the updated line up for the UFC 249 Fight Card:
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – for the interim lightweight title
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz – for the bantamweight title
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Jacare Souza and Uriah Hall)