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The controversial mixed martial arts card scheduled for Saturday in Florida will continue as planned despite the fact that one of the card’s fighters tested positive for coronavirus. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza was pulled from the Jacksonville event after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday. He arrived in Florida earlier in the week. Two of Souza’s cornerbacks also tested positive.
“The UFC medical team examined Souza and his two cornerbacks and found that they are currently asymptomatic or do not exhibit the common symptoms of COVID-19,” organizers said in a statement Friday night.
“The three men have left the host hotel and will isolate themselves from the facility.” Brazilian middleweight Souza was slated to fight Uriah Hall on the undercard of the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship 249 event that takes place without viewers.
Souza attended the weigh-in with a protective mask and kept a certain distance from Hall, who was also wearing a mask and gloves.
Although Souza, who shows no symptoms, will not fight, the other 11 bouts will continue. Authorities said the other 23 fighters on the card have tested negative.
“Brother, I know it sucks. I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m more than devastated by the missed opportunity, ”Hall tweeted on Friday night.
The card is the attempt by UFC chief Dana White to get the mixed martial arts series out of the coronavirus quarantine.
White, who also announced cards for May 13-16 in Jacksonville, insisted before Souza tested positive that the production won’t put anyone at risk.
“Listen, we also have families,” White told CNN Sport. “I have a family; I don’t want to hurt my family. I don’t want to die
“This is not just crazy, it is a well thought out plan. We have had very, very smart people, doctors and people who have been involved with the UFC for a long time working on this non-stop since it started.
“We believe we have this in a place where it can be as safe as possible.”
White’s controversial plans to host a fight card in April on an Indian tribal reservation in California were thwarted.
But he got the green light in Florida to hold spectator-free bouts at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville, led by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
Both fighters weighed in on Friday at a weigh-in where members of the media and most of the UFC staff kept their distance, those closest to the fighters wore masks and the scale was disinfected.
Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo and former champion Dominick Cruz also weighed in for their title fight.
With the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer on hold, along with the US PGA Tour and LPGA, White touts the UFC’s return as a step toward normalcy and a blessing for sport. Hungry fans.
And he said that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, would be watching, in a conference call with the leaders of the American sports league in April.
“The president’s opinion was that we have to get live sports back first,” White told the Los Angeles Times.
“Show everyone how to do it safely. Give people who have to stay home entertainment so they don’t bounce off the walls. ”
“From there, we can discover how we get people back to work and how we take children to schools,” he added.
He said that by going first, he hoped other leagues could also reopen.
White tried to avoid California’s blockade measures when he planned the April 18 event at an Indian casino, but Walt Disney Co, owner of UFC station ESPN, later asked him to postpone it.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opened the door when he gave “essential services” status to employees of professional sports and media productions with a national audience.
bb / gph / tom
