Charles Oliveira will make the walk at UFC 256 without head coach Diego Lima by his side.
In an interview with UFC.com, Lima revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 just days before the team left Sao Paulo for Las Vegas, which will keep him from cornering Oliveira for his co-main event fight vs. Tony Ferguson on Saturday.
“As I was without symptoms and at the same time excited for the fight that we asked for so much, we can’t believe it when something like this happens,” Lima said in Portuguese, as translated by Google Translate. “I even did other tests, but they ended up positive, too, so there was no other way out.”
Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC), who’s riding a seven-fight winning streak, is entering the biggest fight of his career as he looks to take one step closer to securing his first UFC title shot. In his corner will be MMA veteran Jorge Patino and Gia Santos.
Positive COVID-19 test forces Charles Oliveira’s head coach to miss UFC 256