Anderson dos Santos won’t be fighting on “Fight Island.”
Originally expected to fight Jack Shore at the UFC event on July 15, dos Santos (20-8 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has been removed from the bout due to a positive COVID-19 test.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed dos Santos’ withdrawal and the positive COVID-19 test to MMA Junkie on Friday. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was the first to report the news.
At this time, no replacement opponent for Shore (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has been revealed.
Dos Santos, 34, has competed twice under the UFC banner. After losing his promotional debut to Nad Narimani by unanimous decision in November 2018, dos Santos dropped a second unanimous decision against Andre Ewell in June 2019.
Dos Santos is not the first UFC fighter to test positive for the virus. Ronaldo Souza and Billy Quarantillo presented positive tests conducted under the UFC’s protocol. Lyman Good and Jimmie Rivera also tested positive for COVID-19, taking tests on their own, not as part of the UFC’s fight week protocol.
With the removal, the current July 15 lineup includes:
- Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
- Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez
- Chris Fishgold vs. Jared Gordon
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vinicius Moreira
- Molly McCann vs. Taila Santos
- Lerone Murphy vs. Ricardo Ramos
- John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
- Ryan Benoit vs. Tim Elliott
- Diana Belbita vs. Liana Jojua
- Jack Shore vs. TBA
