A UFC Fight Island title bout is in jeopardy.
Deiveson Figueiredo, a top UFC flyweight contender, tested positive for the coronavirus Friday in Brazil, his manager, Wallid Ismail, confirmed with ESPN Brazil. Figueiredo is scheduled to fight Joseph Benavidez for the vacant flyweight title in the main event of UFC Fight Night on July 18 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The bout is not officially off, according to Ismail. The manager told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Figueiredo will be administered a second COVID-19 test Saturday morning and his team is confident that the first one was a false positive. The results should be back by Sunday.
Ismail said Figueiredo already had the coronavirus in May amid the pandemic and doesn’t believe he contracted it again.
“Deiveson tested positive two months ago,” Ismail told ESPN Brazil. “There is no way he tests positive again. Our position is that is a false positive. We’re waiting the second test to prove that he’s clear and can fly normally to fight.”
Figueiredo was supposed to travel from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Abu Dhabi on Friday night, but he will not be on that flight because of the positive test. The UFC is chartering all Brazil-based fighters from Sao Paulo to Yas Island this month for its “Fight Island” bouts. The flight leaving Friday is the final one from Brazil for the month. But Ismail told Helwani that if Figueiredo’s second COVID-19 results come back negative, he could potentially get on a flight Sunday night.
Benavidez and the other U.S.-based fighters on the July 18 event are flying from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi on Friday night as well.
The UFC did not respond to a request for comment on the matter Friday night.
There is another top flyweight bout on the July 18 card: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Askar Askarov. Pantoja is ESPN’s No. 6-ranked flyweight and Askarov is No. 7. The UFC could tab one of them as a replacement if Figueiredo can’t make the trip. Figueiredo is No. 2 at flyweight, while Benavidez is No. 3.
Figueiredo (18-1) and Benavidez (28-6) have already fought once this year, a bout Figueiredo won by second-round TKO on Feb. 29. That bout would have been for the vacant flyweight title (like this one is), but Figueiredo missed weight by 2.5 pounds, making him ineligible to win the bout. Due to that circumstance, the UFC decided to book the rematch.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto contributed to this report.