Moises Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Pulled From UFC Vegas 9

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Just when you thought UFC Vegas 9 couldn’t experience any additional changes, it has been revealed that Thiago Moises has tested positive for COVID-19 and removed from his lightweight bout with Jalin Turner, per Combate.

Given the timing of the positive test result UFC officials were not able to find a late replacement for Turner. The main card bout has been scratched entirely.

This is terrible news for a UFC Vegas 9 card which already lost numerous bouts due to COVID-19. In addition, the ESPN+ event also lost Octagon newcomer Kevin Natividad for undisclosed reasons just hours ago, leaving Brian Kelleher to accept a super short notice fight against veteran Ray Rodriguez.

Moises, 25, was hoping to win his second-straight fight after submitting veteran Michael Johnson back in May. The young Brazilian fighter has exchanged wins and losses inside of the Octagon since making his debut back in 2018 and looked poised to break out in this Vegas showing. He’ll have to wait a little longer to get things rolling again.

With the late-notice cancellation, UFC Vegas 9 will now proceed with just eight total fights.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 9 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the main card portion that also streams on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 9: “Overeem vs. Sakai” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.