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Shocking news rocked the mixed martial arts world this evening as it was announced that Jacare Souza had tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of UFC 249.
The announcement came from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who reported that Jacare Souza had tested positive for the virus and that his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 249 was now cancelled.
Despite one of their slated combatants testing positive for Covid-19, the promotion is still planning on moving ahead with tomorrow night’s UFC 249 pay-per-view event as scheduled.
Jacare Souza had weighed in for his fight with Uriah Hall earlier today in Florida, with both men coming in at the middleweight limit of 186lbs.
The UFC 249 bout with Hall was set to serve as Souza’s first since suffering a decision loss to Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight this past November.
According to ESPN‘s Brett Okamoto a member of Jacare’s family had previously tested positive for Covid-19 and he disclosed this information when checking in with the UFC on Wednesday. Jacare took the test and was then isolated. This evening the test results came back positive and he was pulled from the UFC 249 fight card.
Jacare Souza had previously expressed his fear of catching the virus, but said he had to compete at UFC 249 in order to support his family.
As for Uriah Hall, the middleweight standout has yet to release a statement following the recently announced fight cancellation.
UFC 249 will take tomorrow night live from Jacksonville, Florida. The event will air on pay-per-view and is headlined by a highly anticipated interim lightweight title fight featuring Tony Ferguson taking on Justin Gaethje.
In the co-main event of the evening, Henry Cejudo will look to earn his first bantamweight title defense when he squares off with former division kingpin Dominick Cruz.
Are you surprised that the UFC plans to proceed with tomorrow night’s event as planned following Jacare Souza’s positive test for Covid-19? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on May 8, 2020