UFC 250 cornerman tests positive for COVID-19, fighter removed from card

A person expected to corner at UFC 250 on Saturday has tested positive for COVID-19.

According to a source close to the situation, a cornerman for Ian Heinisch has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Heinisch was removed from his UFC 250 bout against Gerald Meerschaert for precautionary reasons.

Multiple sources told MMA Junkie the positive test was cause for concern among numerous other athletes and teams on the ground, especially fighters who had recently been around Heinisch. The UFC was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

TSN was the first to report the news after a tweet from anonymous Twitter user @DonKingLV.

The event and its preceding fight week currently is being overseen by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Contact tracing is part of the NAC’s recently instated COVID-19 safety protocols, should someone within the closed system test positive, and could be key in assessing if any other athletes should face precautionary measures.

Heinisch’s cornerman is the first known positive UFC test since Ronaldo Souza and his team tested positive during UFC 249 fight week in May.

With Heinisch out, his originally scheduled opponent Gerald Meerschaert now fights UFC newcomer Anthony Ivy.

UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.