Glover Teixeira out of UFC on ESPN+ 35 after positive COVID test; Thiago Santos fight rescheduled

Glover Teixeira vs. Thiago Santos is still set to happen – just not next week as originally planned.

Texiera (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) has tested positive and is out of his scheduled UFC on ESPN+ 35 headliner against Santos (21-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC). The fight is off the Sept. 12 card but has been pushed back to Oct. 3.

Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed Teixeira’s positive test and the fight’s subsequent date shift to MMA Junkie late Wednesday night following an initial report from Combate. The people asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

There is no word on what the new UFC on ESPN+ 35 main event will be. Currently, Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana is slated to headline the Oct. 3 event expected to take place on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

With Jon Jones vacating the UFC light heavyweight championship recently, the promotion booked Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes to take place for the vacant title Sept. 26 at UFC 253. The fight between Santos and Teixeira, which presumably could be three rounds instead of five if it’s not a main event, is considered to be a No. 1 contender fight. Both men have challenged for the belt before.

Santos has not competed since a close split decision loss to Jones in July 2019 at UFC 239. In that fight, Santos tore ligaments in both knees, which required surgery.

As for Teixeira, the 40-year-old has won four straight fights, including most recently a dominant beatdown of Anthony Smith in May.

With the removal, the UFC on ESPN+ 35 lineup includes:

• Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson
• Andrea Lee vs. Roxanne Modafferi
• Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
• Bruno Silva vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Frank Camacho vs. Brok Weaver
• Kyle Nelson vs. Billy Quarantillo
• Bryan Barberena vs. Anthony Ivy
• Matt Frevola vs. Roosevelt Roberts
• Bobby Green vs. Alan Patrick
• John Allan vs. Ed Herman
• Justine Kish vs. Sabina Mazo
• Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy

With the addition, the Oct. 3 lineup includes:

• Irene Aldana vs. Holly Holm
• Germaine de Randamie vs. Julianna Pena
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser
• Beneil Dariush vs. Charles Oliveira
• Carlos Condit vs. Court McGee
• Loma Lookboonmee vs. Jinh Yu Frey
• Yorgan De Castro vs. Carlos Felipe
• Heili Alateng vs. Casey Kenney
• Tom Breese vs. Roman Kopylov
• Josh Culibao vs. Charles Jourdain

• Glover Teixeira vs. Thiago Santos