UFC Vegas 17 loses Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima due to positive COVID-19 test

UFC Vegas 17, which is set to take place on Saturday night from the UFC Apex, has lost another fight due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Welterweight Belal Muhammad took to Twitter earlier this morning to announce that he had tested positive for COVID-19, which has led to the cancellation of his scheduled fight against Dhiego Lima.

Woke up yesterday feeling like crap got tested and i was positive for covid sucks but I’ll be back

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) December 15, 2020

MMAFighting.com confirmed the news while also reporting that the UFC is looking to reschedule the fight for a card in January in Abu Dhabi.

The 32-year-old Muhammed has found quite a bit of success as of late, as he’s won seven of his last eight bouts dating back to 2017. Currently, he’s riding a three-fight winning streak since losing to Geoff Neal, who will headline Saturday’s event. During that stretch, Muhammad has earned victories over Curtis Millender, Takashi Sato, and Lyman Good.

Lima, the brother of Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima, meanwhile, has also won three-straight fights, having beaten Chad Laprise, Court McGee, and Luke Jumeau. At 31 years old, Lima owns a 15-7 record, although he hasn’t competed since October 2019, as he was forced to withdraw from a bout earlier this year after suffering a neck injury.

Aside from the cancellation of this fight, UFC Vegas 17 also lost its originally scheduled main event between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev after Edwards tested positive for the coronavirus. Despite that, the card remains a rather strong one.

Check out the full slate of fights listed below.

Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal

Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera

Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams

Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font

Marcin Tybura vs. Greg Hardy

Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos

Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Morono

Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad

Karl Roberson vs. Dalcha Lungiambula

Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo

Aiemann Zahabi vs. Drako Rodriguez