UFC veteran Jim Miller will not be competing this weekend.
The longtime lightweight was looking to return to the win column against Nikolas Motta at UFC Vegas 37 next weekend. However, that will no longer be the case after Miller recently tested positive for COVID-19.
As a result, he was forced to withdraw from the contest.
Miller informed fans of the news on social media:
“There’s a first time for everything,” Miller said (via MMAFighting.com). “In the lead-up to my 50th professional fight, having never pulled out of a fight before, I tested positive for ‘rona. So I will not be fighting next weekend, unfortunately. I’ve already talked to (UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby), gonna stay on the grind, take a few days, load up on some vitamins and minerals and medicine and get right back into it and potentially even fight as early as Oct. 2.
“I’ll keep you guys posted. I’ve never been the type to really get bent out of shape by things I can’t control, so this is how it always happens, right? You grind for weeks, beating the sh*t out of yourself getting ready for a fight and it’s always in the last two weeks that an illness or injury happens and this time it just happened to be corona.”
Miller is on a two-fight losing streak and has lost three of his last four. His most recent outing was in April when he was outpointed by Joe Solecki over three rounds.
As for Motta, it looks like he is set to face Cameron VanCamp on short notice.