Alexander Romanov was set to make his UFC debut this weekend at UFC 251, facing Marcin Tybura in a heavyweight division attraction.
However, it appears that the UFC debut of Romanov will have to wait because he has reportedly been pulled from the card after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Lion Comrat, which is Romanov’s home gym, posted the following on their Instagram page (via MMA Junkie):
“Dear friends, we were all looking forward to Alexander Romanov’s debut in UFC, which was to take place this Saturday, July 11, 2020. Unfortunately, he and his team tested POSITIVE for Covid-19 on the 1st of July 2020 and even if the repeated test, done on the 3rd of July 2020 came back NEGATIVE, indicating only the presence of antibodies in one of the coaches’ system, Alexander Romanov has already been removed from the fight card, just as other four other foreign fighters who were going to fight Saturday at UFC 251. Alexander feels great, he trains in isolation and looks forward to his next fight in UFC. We wish him success and good health!”
MMA Junkie also reports that Maxim Grishin will replace Romanov at the event and facing Tybura.
UFC 251 takes place on Saturday, July 11 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
