UFC 249 in CHAOS as fighter Ronaldo Souza tests positive for coronavirus and is pulled from card
UFC 249 has been left in chaos after Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza tested positive for Covid-19.
Souza's clash has been cancelled after he contracted the virus.
The Brazilian's middleweight bout with Uriah Hall has been pulled from the card.
Souza, 40, will have been contagious for some time as he attended press conferences and Friday's weigh-in.
UFC 249 is being headlined by Tony Ferguson's bout with Justin Gaethje.
A UFC statement said: “UFC’s medical team examined Souza and his two cornermen and found them to be currently asymptomatic.
LIVE: UFC 249 - LATEST FIGHT WEEK BUILD UP
“As per UFC’s health and safety protocols, all three men have left the host hotel and will be self-isolating off premises, where UFC’s medical team will monitor their conditions remotely and will provide assistance with any necessary treatment.”
With most of sport sidelined by the coronavirus, it was hoped that UFC 249 would finally give fans something to to get excited about.
But Souza's news is a hammer blow.
His opponent Hall tweeted this message to Souza: "Brother I know it sucks I’m sorry you have to go through this I am beyond devastated for the missed opportunity I wish you nothing but recovery for you and your family."
Hall had trained in isolation for UFC 249. He slept on an air mattress inside the Fortis MMA Gym in Texas, doing virtual training sessions with his head coach Sayif Saud in preparation for a key moment in his career.
Stringent tests for Covid-19 have taken place at the behind-closed-doors event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
Both Souza and Hall wore masks for their face-off at Friday's weigh-in.
Souza wore gloves in addition to a mask.
They faced off standing several feet further apart than any of the other fighters on the card.
But UFC president Dana White fist-bumped both men.
BT Sport are covering the preliminary fights from 1am all the way through to a scheduled 7.30am finish for the main bouts.
UFC have confirmed the rest of the bill will still go-ahead.
Gaethje is legend Khabib Nurmagomedov's replacement for the interim lightweight belt.
Latest UFC news
American Ferguson, who holds the record for consecutive wins with 12, said: “The only two real men out there are going to be me and Justin Gaethje.
“Right now, there's no Olympics, there's no Wimbledon, there's no NBA Draft, there's no NFL Draft, there's no tennis, there's no soccer, hockey, there's no baseball.
“We’re going to do our best and we’re going to keep sports alive.”