Two UFC fighters, Ricky Simon and Giga Chikadze, have been pulled from their upcoming fights due to issues related to Covid-19.
First up, Giga Chikadze was due to fight Alex Caceres on the prelims of tonight’s UFC On ESPN+ 33 event in Las Vegas, but was removed from the card earlier in the week and it’s now been revealed that was due to the fact he had tested positive for Covid-19.
The promotion had initially drafted in Kevin Croom to serve as Chikadze’s replacement, but for unknown reasons he too then had to be replaced, with Austin Springer now stepping up on 24hrs notice instead, even although he came in 5lbs overweight for the bout.
Meanwhile, Ricky Simon was set to fight Brian Kelleher at UFC On ESPN+ 34 next weekend, but due to the fact that one of his cornermen has tested positive for the virus, that means he’s no longer able to fight for precautionary reasons.
“I just got the call that they are pulling me from the card due to one of my cornermen testing positive for Covid,” Simon said on social media. “I put in so much work for this fight and I was really looking forward to putting on a show for you guys. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement, THIS SUCKS!! I hope I can get rebooked ASAP.”
