UPDATE: UFC officials have confirmed to MMAFighting that Ian Heinisch vs. Gerald Meerschaert is back on. Heinisch’s cornerman has been cleared after taking another COVID-19 test. Anthony Ivy, who was set to replace Heinisch, will remain on the UFC roster.
A fighter scheduled to be on the UFC 250 card has been removed.
UFC 250 was supposed to feature a middleweight clash between Ian Heinisch and Gerald Meerschaert. The bout would’ve been held on the preliminary portion of the card. That is no longer the case as Ian Heinisch has been yanked.
Ian Heinisch Pulled From UFC 250 Card Following Cornerman’s Positive COVID-19 Test
A cornerman of Heinisch has tested positive for the coronavirus and as a result, Heinisch vs. Meerschaert is no more. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was the first to report the news after a tweet from Twitter user DonKingLV.
“Per multiple sources, Ian Heinisch was forced to withdraw from UFC 250 for precautionary reasons because onf of his corners tested positive for COVID-19.”
Combate’s Raphael Marinho followed up on this, reporting that Meerschaert will now face Anthony Ivy.
“With Ian Heinisch out of UFC 250, [UFC] negotiates to have Anthony Ivy as Gerald Meerschaert’s opponent this Saturday.”
This is the second time at least one positive test was discovered ahead of a UFC event. Jacare Souza and his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19 before a scheduled bout with Uriah Hall. The match-up never took place due to Souza’s diagnosis.
UFC 250 is scheduled to take place inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night (June 6). The event will be headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between champion Amanda Nunes and Felicia Spencer. In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will look for his first win since Dec. 2016 when he meets Raphael Assuncao.
MMA News will be providing live coverage of UFC 250 this weekend. Join us for live weigh-in results on Friday, then be sure to stick with us on Saturday night for live results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits.
