The coronavirus has struck a UFC fight card once again at the last minute.
Just hours before UFC on ESPN+ 40 on Saturday, it was revealed that the middleweight bout between [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag] was canceled. After Allen tweeted that Heinisch tested positive for COVID-19, the UFC stated only that a “COVID-19 test involving” Heinisch was the reason for the cancellation.
This marks the second time this year that one of Heinisch’s fights has been affected by the coronavirus. At UFC 250 in June, Heinisch (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was pulled from is fight with Gerald Meerschaert after one of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. The result was later deemed a false positive, however, and the fight proceeded as planned, with Heinisch winning by second-round TKO.
Allen (15-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who was set to compete for the third time in 2020, doesn’t expect to fight again before the year ends. He said he’s “working on getting something else for next year.” Allen, a former LFA champion, is on a seven-fight winning streak, which includes his first three in the UFC.
With the change, here’s the new UFC on ESPN+ 40 lineup:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
- Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Khalid Taha
- Giga Chikadze vs. Jamey Simmons
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET)
- Trevin Giles vs. Bevon Lewis
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Alexandr Romanov
- Darren Elkins vs. Eduardo Garagorri
- Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Max Griffin
- Anthony Birchak vs. Gustavo Lopez
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