The UFC’s upcoming UFC 258, set to unfold this weekend in Las Vegas, is down a fight.
A promising bantamweight bout between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera has been forced off the event, as a result of a COVID-19 positive test. Exactly which competitor was flagged for the disease is unclear. However, news of the bout’s removal from the event, where it was expected to feature on the PPV card, was first reported by MMA Fighting.
The recently added Andre Ewell vs. Chris Gutierrez fight, booked for a 140lb catchweight, is expected to take its place.
Munhoz (18-5, 1NC) and Rivera (23-4) have been rescheduled before. The fight was originally expected for a UFC event on January 30, which never materialized. It was pulled forward to UFC Fight Island 8 on January 20, the bumped back to UFC 258 this coming weekend.
The plan moving forward is to reschedule the fight once again.
When they do finally throw down, Rivera will be looking to build off a win over Cody Stamann. Munhoz has lost his last two, to Frankie Edgar and Aljamain Sterling, and will be hoping to find himself back in the win column.
Saturday, February 13’s UFC 258 currently consists of the following bouts:
Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Gilbert Burns
Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch
Maki Pitolo vs. Julian Marquez
Yancy Medeiros vs. Jim Miller
Rodolfo Viera vs. Anthony Hernandez
Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima
Polyana Viana vs. Mallory Martin
Ricky Simon vs. Brian Kelleher
Gabriel Green vs. Philip Rowe
Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick
Andre Ewell vs. Chris Gutierrez
