The highly-anticipated matchup between the defending Alexander Volkanovski and BJJ ace, Brian Ortega will not take place at UFC 260 next weekend.
The co-main event of the Pay-Per-View will be moved to a later date. The unfortunate news would be broken on the UFC’s broadcast at UFC Vegas 22, by commentator Brendan Fitzgerald.
The Reasoning
The UFC’s COVID-19 protocols surrounding team Volkanovski would prevent the fight from happening. It was revealed earlier today that fellow Aussie and City Kickboxing product, Brad Riddell would pull out of his co-main event outing due to the previous protocols.
Volkanovski had come to Las Vegas with his team, which included Riddell, fighting a week before the champion. The shared team between the two would stir up a ‘quake’ involving COVID-19 supposedly infecting one or more team members including Volkanosvki.
It is unknown at this time when the bout between Featherweight’s finest will take place. Volkanovski has tested positive for COVID-19. So, it will take time for the champ to heal back up to 100%. Devastation would describe the word for Volkanovski and Ortega as they were more ready than ever to fight, with only one week out until their fight.
A Flash From The Past
This isn’t the first time ‘T-City’ has experienced title complications.
Going back to 2018, then-champ Max Holloway would pull out of his bout with Ortega at UFC 226, due to a concussion suffered in training. The Chicano’s shot at the title would have to wait until later that year, almost 6 months later at UFC 231.
The current plan per the UFC is to reschedule the title fightfor another UFC event, rather than having a fighter like Holloway step in to save the co-headliner.
