via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 19: Curtis Blaydes poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on June 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 19: Curtis Blaydes poses on the scale during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX on June 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
The curse of COVID-19 has once again struck the UFC. One half of this weekend’s headliner, Curtis Blaydes, has tested positive for coronavirus. Consequently, the fans will not get to witness his heavyweight clash with Derrick Lewis.
Ariel Helwani reported the news of Blaydes testing positive. The ESPN reporter also added that the UFC is hoping to reschedule the booking between Blaydes and Lewis for later this year in December. However, nothing concrete in this regard has been made official yet.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis — tomorrow night’s UFC main event — has been canceled, per multiple sources. Blaydes has tested positive for COVID.
The promotion is hoping to reschedule the fight in December, sources say, though that isn’t a done deal just yet.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 27, 2020
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The fight between the two heavyweights would’ve had a major role in determining who would progress up the divisional ladder. Both the fighters are coming off multiple wins.
Both Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis were holding win streaks in their past fights
Blaydes came into the fight holding a four-fight win streak. His most recent outing came against Alexander Volkov earlier this year in June. ‘Razor’ dominated the Russian on the ground en route to a lopsided decision win. His wrestling heavy style of fighting has earned him comparisons with the lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Blaydes currently sits at No. 2 in the divisional rankings. However, his couple of losses against Francis Ngannou, who is just ahead of him in the rankings, will work against him in case of a title shot.
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Blaydes’ scheduled opponent for this weekend, Derrick Lewis, has also won his past three fights. He last stepped foot inside the Octagon in August earlier this year. Lewis knocked out Aleksei Oleinik in the second round of the fight. A UFC veteran, Lewis has been a constant presence in the divisional rankings. With a win over a higher-ranked contender in Blaydes, he would’ve fancied a second chance at UFC gold in the future.
While the fans will surely miss the fight that would’ve anticipated for this weekend, they will hope that the fight gets rescheduled as soon as Blaydes is ready to step inside the Octagon.
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The UFC has moved the light heavyweight clash between Anthony Smith and Devin Clark to the main event spot.
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