Amanda Ribas Pulled From UFC Vegas 26 after Positive COVID Test
Strawweight fighter Amanda Ribas and her father tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before she was set to face former Invicta FC champion Amanda Hill at UFC Vegas 26. Ribas and Hill were to be the first bout on the main card on Saturday from the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada. Amanda nor her father Marcelo were showing any symptoms before the positive test.
Ribas was making her first appearance in the octagon since suffering her first loss in the promotion at UFC 257 in January. The 27-year-old Brazilian suffered a second-round TKO loss to Marina Rodriguez in Abu Dhabi. Before that, Ribas was on a four-fight UFC win streak, including a submission win over Paige VanZant in her only flyweight fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Tonight’s card will now feature just nine bouts after a pair of fights were called off on Friday due to weight-cutting complications and illness. The main event is a Women’s Flyweight battle between Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez. Rodriguez is the favorite at the FanDuel Sportsbook at -205, while Waterson carries value with +172 odds.
Fan-favorite Donald Cerone is a -184 favorite over the +154 Alex Morono in the Welterweight co-main event.