A UFC Vegas 17 preliminary welterweight bout between Belal Muhammad and Dhiego Lima has been postponed after Muhammad tested positive for COVID-19.
Muhammad confirmed the bout’s cancellation for Saturday’s event following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
“Woke up yesterday feeling like crap, got tested, and I was positive for covid. Sucks, but I’ll be back,” he wrote on Twitter.
UFC Vegas 17, which takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, is the promotion’s final event of a pandemic plagued 2020. It was originally slated to feature Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but that bout was also a COVID casualty after Edwards tested positive.
A welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal now headlines the UFC Vegas 17 fight card.
UFC officials are hoping to reschedule the Edwards vs. Chimaev and Muhammad vs. Lima bouts sometime in January 2021.
With numerous COVID-19 cancellations plaguing the several most recent UFC fight cards, officials stacked the final event. Despite COVID-19 attrition, the UFC Vegas 17 fight card still stands at 14 bouts.
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UFC Vegas 17: Thompson vs. Neal fight card
UFC Vegas 17 main card (7 p.m. ET on ESPN+)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
- Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
- Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
- Rob Font vs. Marlon Moraesv
- Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
- Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
- Alex Morono vs. Anthony Pettis
UFC Vegas 17 preliminary card (4 p.m. ET on ESPN+)
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Karl Roberson
- Antonio Arroyo vs. Deron Winn
- Drako Rodriguez vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
- Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick
- Rick Glenn vs. Carlton Minus
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COVID-19 knocks Belal Muhammad out of UFC Vegas 17