Report | Jacare Souza was the only UFC 249 athlete to test positive for COVID-19

The worst-case scenario happened for the UFC as it was revealed Jacare Souza has tested positive for COVID-19. The good news is that the other 23 fighters had their tests come back negative.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on social media that Souza has left the fighter hotel after testing positive but no other fighters have the virus.

The other 23 fighters on the UFC 249 card tested negative for COVID-19, per sources.

Jacare has left the hotel, per sources.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 9, 2020

“The other 23 fighters on the UFC 249 card tested negative for COVID-19, per sources. Jacare has left the hotel, per sources,” Helwani tweeted.

The good news for the fighters is the fact they didn’t test positive. Yet, these results were from the tests administered on Wednesday, so perhaps they contracted something since then. Jacare Souza was seen at the morning weigh-ins and in a video with Fabricio Werdum from this morning.

But, according to one UFC fighter on this card, athletes will not be tested again after they were tested both on Wednesday and today.

So, as of right now, UFC 249 will still happen on May 9 even after the positive test from Souza. But, there will surely be fallout from this positive test and how the UFC will go about handling the upcoming fight weeks in Jacksonville, Florida.

With the removal of Jacare Souza vs. Uriah Hall, this is currently how the UFC 249 cards looks:

Main Card

• Lightweight: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
• Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
• Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Featherweight: Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Heavyweight: Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro

Prelims

• Welterweight: Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone
• Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexey Oleynik
• Strawweight: Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
• Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
• Featherweight: Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
• Light heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey

Do you think UFC 249 still should happen on Saturday night after Jacare Souza’s positive test? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/8/2020.