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The 33-year-old Argentinian is the latest UFC athlete to test positive for the coronavirus.
UFC welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio cannot catch a break. Away from the Octagon since November 2018 due to injuries and a staph infection, the Argentinian has now become the latest UFC athlete to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic—testing positive for COVID-19 this week, Ag Fight reports.
Most recently, Santiago Ponzinibbio (27-3) was scheduled to take on former champion Robbie Lawler, in December 2019, but a case of staph forced ‘Gente Boa’ out of the bout. Currently, the 33-year-old rides a seven-fight winning streak, with victories over notable names such as Nei Magny, Mike Perry and Gunnar Nelson. His latest loss dates back to June 2015, when he was TKO’d by Lorenz Larkin.
Ponzinibbio became the fourth UFC fighter to test positive for COVID-19 in the past several days. He joins bantamweight Pedro Munhoz, light heavyweight Vinicius Moreira and fellow welterweight Gilbert Burns, who were all scheduled to perform on the UFC’s Fight Island, in July.
Additionally, former WEC champion and Jorge Masvidal’s coach Mike Brown, as wells as a cornerman of strawweight Marina Rodriguez have tested positive, wrecking havoc on upcoming UFC fight cards. As precautionary measures, Brown became unable to corner ‘Gamebred’ at UFC 251 and the Brazilian’s fight against Carla Esparza was shifted to a later date.