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Ian Heinisch was recently forced to withdraw from UFC 250 — which is set to go down this weekend (Sat., June 6, 2020) in Las Vegas, Nevada — from his Middleweight showdown against Gerald Meerschaert.
While an initial reason wasn’t given for his withdrawal, TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter revealed that the removal of Heinisch from the ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) event was for precautionary reasons after one of his cornerman tested positive for COVID-19.
One hour later, however, it was revealed that the cornerman would be tested one more time to confirm the positive reading. Should it prove to be negative, there is a possibility that Heinisch could be cleared to fight on Saturday night.
“The cornerman for Heinisch that tested positive will be tested again to determine whether the test was a false positive,” Bronsteter reported. “Should subsequent tests come back negative, Heinisch could still be cleared to compete Saturday. Heinisch is continuing to cut weight and train.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stated that testing for coronavirus would be ramped up for this event — the first in “Sin City” in over more than months. After mounting a comeback faster than expected, UFC implemented testing for its three events that took place in Jacksonville, Fla., last month. As a result, Ronaldo Souza and his corner tested positive for COVID-19, forcing “Jacare” to withdraw from his 185-pound scrap against Uriah Hall at UFC 249.
According to MMA Fighting, UFC newcomer, Anthony Ivy, has been pegged as Ian’s potential replacement, though the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. As always, keep it locked it to MMAMania.com as more details emerge on this developing situation.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 250 fight card on fight night, starting with the ESPN+/Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
See the revised UFC 250 fight card and lineup right here.