Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
With hours left before fight time UFC Vegas 13 has lost one of its biggest attractions, as a middleweight bout between Ian Heinisch and Brendan Allen has been removed from the ESPN+ main card due to a positive COVID-19, per an official UFC statement.
It is unknown at this time who exactly tested positive for coronavirus but it was someone from Team Heinisch. This is the second time this middleweight pairing has been scratched after Heinisch withdrew from their original bout back in June due to injury.
Allen, who was entering the biggest fight of his young career, released a statement via Instagram one hour ago explaining the situation.
“NO FIGHT TONIGHT! Opponent tested positive for covid so working on getting something else for next year. Thanks to everyone who helped me for this one, super bummed right now and just want to get home,” wrote Allen.
Heinisch, 32, is coming off a first-round TKO finish over Gerald Meerschaert back in June. The finish helped snap a two-fight losing streak for Heinisch and improved his overall Octagon record to 3-2. The No. 15 ranked middleweight contender will have to wait until next year to make his push towards the top 10.
Allen, 24, has been unstoppable since making his UFC debut just over one year ago. The former LFA middleweight champion has produced a 3-0 record inside of the Octagon with stoppages over Kevin Holland and Tom Breese. The Roufusport product was hoping to become the first fighter to finish Heinisch under the UFC banner and claim his own spot in the top 15. He’ll have to wait as well.
UFC Vegas 13 will unfold later tonight (Sat., Nov. 7, 2020) live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Thiago Santos takes on Glover Teixeira in a light heavyweight main event. A featherweight clash between Giga Chikadze and Jamey Simmons has been moved to the main card to replace Heinisch vs. Allen.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 13 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ and ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET.