UFC Vegas 31 Loses Fight Due To COVID

UFC Vegas 31 has suffered a last-second setback due to COVID-19. According to Miles Johns, someone in Anderson dos Santos’ camp tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result the promotion had no choice but to remove dos Santos from the Bantamweight bout — which was set to go down later tonight (Sat., July 17, o 2021) on the “prelims.” — as is standard per the promotion’s health and safety protocols.

“It’s with great regret that I have to inform you all that I will not be fighting this evening. My opponent/camp tested positive for covid so the fight is off. I want to wish him a speedy recovery, want to thank the UFC for the opportunity but mainly want apologize to everyone who was looking forward to watching me fight today,” said Johns in an Instagram post.

“I promise you there is nothing I would rather be doing than putting on a show for you all this evening. Thank you all for the love and support. It truly means the world to me. I hope to have some fight news for you soon but in the meantime we will stay focused and stay positive. Let’s keep moving forward!”

Johns was hoping to keep the momentum he had going after a knockout win over Kevin Natividad. Dos Santos, meanwhile, was also looking for back-to-back wins following his first round submission win over Martin Day in Nov. 2020.

No word yet on whether this fight will be rescheduled for a later date. For now, the ESPN+-streamed event — which is headlined by a Lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises — will proceed with 11 fights.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 31 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 31 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the complete “Makhachev vs. Moises” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.