The featherweight fight between reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega was taken out of UFC 260 on March 27.
The announcement was made Saturday night during the UFC Vegas 22 broadcast.
Volkanovski was removed from the card due to COVID-19 protocols, meaning the entire match had to be scrapped with plans to reschedule the match for a later date. The featherweight champion later confirmed that he tested positive for the virus after testing negative twice.
One of Volkanovski’s teammates and training partners Brad Riddell was also taken out of UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday due to the same COVID-19 protocols, although it is unknown if the two situations are related.
The fight was supposed to serve as Volkanovski’s second title defense after defeating Max Holloway to win the featherweight championship and then beating the Hawaiian a second time in an instant rematch.
As for Ortega, he wins the title in a sudden victory over Chan Sung Jung, ‘The Korean Zombie’, but it now appears that he will have to wait a while longer before he gets the chance to become a UFC champion .
The UFC has not announced when the fight will be rescheduled.
UFC 260 will move forward with the same main event as heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who tackles Francis Ngannou in a five-round fight from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.