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Nova Uniao’s head coach Andre Pederneiras won’t be able to corner Ketlen Vieira at UFC 253.
For the second time in four months, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras has tested positive for COVID-19. Back in May, the coach had what turned out to be a false positive, when he turned his Rio de Janeiro arena into a temporary hospital to help treat patients of the disease.
Already in Abu Dhabi to coach female bantamweight Ketlen Vieira for her fight against Sijara Eubanks at UFC 253, Pederneiras will not longer be able to do so, MMA Fighting reports.
Although fights have been cancelled before due to coaches testing positive for COVID-19, Vieira’s fight will still go on. According to Ketlen herself, she never had contact with Pederneiras on her way to Abu Dhabi. Now, former Bellator bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao will step up as Vieira’s corner for the bout.
“It’s going to be the two of us against the world,” Vieira told MMA Fighting. “We went through a lot to get here, several issues. I’ll only have one corner on the fight, so I just want to leave with my hand raised.”
“[Pederneiras’ situation] only motivates me to go there and make him prouder.” Said Ketlen.
In her last outing, Ketlen Vieira (10-1) lost her unbeaten record when she got knocked out by Irene Aldana back in December. Before that, the 29-year-old was on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC, with victories over Kelly Faszholz, Ashlee Evans-Smith, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano.
Ketlen Vieira is scheduled to take on Sijara Eubanks at UFC 253, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on September 26th. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight title fight between the champion, Israel Adesanya, and top contender Paulo Costa.