Brian Kelleher and Anthony Hernandez have both been pulled from their upcoming bouts at UFC Fight Night 184 on January 16th at Fight Island, Abu Dhabi due to testing positive for Covid-19.
Kelleher had been set to fight Ricky Simon at the UFC’s first event of the year, but he received a positive test for coronavirus and is not in quarantine, though he is reportedly not suffering any symptoms for the time being.
This is the second time the fight has been scratched after it fell through in September when Simon’s cornerman tested positive.
Kelleher was coming into this rescheduled bout having kept busy in 2020 with a 3-1 run that saw him beat Ode Osbourne, Hunter Azure and Ray Rodriguez, while also suffering a decision loss to Cody Stamann.
As for Simon, he only managed to log one fight in the past year, earning a split decision win over Ray Borg back in May.
Meanwhile, Anthony Hernandez has also had to withdraw from his fight at the event against Rodolfo Vieira after he too caught the virus, but he appears to be asymptomatic and so the match-up has been rescheduled for next month.
“Happy New Year! Good news is that #teamFluffy is safe and gear goes out next week 💯 bad news is the fights delayed — 2020 left me with the covid. I’m good tho — and rescheduled for 2/13 🙏🏽🐔🥊 #areyounotentertained,” Hernandez wrote on Instagram.
Hernandez’s only fight in 2020 was a loss to Kevin Holland, and with an overall 1-2 record in the UFC to date he’ll definitely be grateful for the extra time to prepare to make sure he is 100% healthy on fight night.
UFC Fight Night 184 now proceeds with the featherweight fight topping the bill currently remaining intact, as Max Holloway headlines against Calvin Kattar.
