UFC Vegas 15 loses Moicano vs. Fiziev to COVID-19

Saturday's UFC Vegas 15 fight card headlined by Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes has lost one of its undercard bouts. Renato Moicano reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, so his bout with Rafael Fiziev has been removed from the fight card.

Moicano, according to MMA Fighting, tested positive for COVID-19, forcing his removal from the UFC Vegas 15 line-up. Evidently, he is expected to be ready to fight soon, as the bout with Fiziev is now being targeted for UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

The bout is a welcome addition to the UFC 256 fight card, which has been plagued by main event instability.

UFC 256 has lost three championship fights

The UFC’s initial plan was for UFC 256 to feature welterweight champion Kamaru Usman defending against Gilbert Burns, women’s double-champ Amanda Nunes putting her featherweight belt on the line opposite Megan Anderson, and Yan vs. Sterling.

In the midst of signing Yan vs. Sterling, the Usman vs. Burns bout fell off the card when Usman indicated that he would not be physically ready to compete on the Dec. 12 fight card.

Nunes vs. Anderson was then elevated to main event status. That lasted only a few days before Nunes withdrew because of undisclosed medical issues.

That left Yan vs. Sterling as the likely UFC 256 main event, but now even that fight is a bust after Yan withdrew from the bout over the weekend because of undisclosed personal reasons.

UFC president Dana White is now trying to convince bantamweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo to make a quick turnaround and fight on the Dec. 12 fight card.

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