Jamahal Hill has been forced out of his UFC On ESPN 21 co-main event fight against Paul Craig on March 20th after testing positive for Covid-19.
The news first broke via Craig, who expressed his disappointment at the fight being cancelled, while revealing that the bout had already been rescheduled.
“Fight has been cancelled due to Hill pulling out,” Craig wrote on Instagram. “Rematch has been agreed. #bearjew#mma #comingforyou #bearjewjitsu#moretimetogetbetter #gutted #ufc#ufcfighter.”
Hill had previously revealed his Covid-19 diagnosis back on March 3rd, but at the time he had hoped he might still be able to recover in time to compete at the event in Las Vegas.
“So just a update Sweet Dreams Nation I have tested positive for covid!!!” Hill had posted. “I am having some symptoms but with the fight 18 days away we will see how I feel in the coming days my hope is I feel better and am able to still fight March 20th but health is most important!!!”
A week after this message Hill has now been ruled out of the fight, and given that other notable fighters like Khamzat Chimaev and Cody Garbrandt have had to endure a lengthy battle with so-called ‘long Covid’ symptoms, it definitely seems wise to err on the side of caution when it comes to recouperating from this disease.
Though Hill vs. Craig has been scratched from the card, UFC On ESPN 21’s main event remains intact and will see Derek Brunson fighting Kevin Holland.
