Marina Rodriguez vs. Carla Esparza off of
July 15 UFC event due to positive COVID-19 test (@guicruzzz)
https://t.co/aAN41Qry5C— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting)
July 3, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s July 15 card has been
thoroughly ravaged by the coronavirus.
MMA Fighting first reported on Friday that one of Marina
Rodriguez’ corners tested positive for COVID-19. This positive
test, despite Rodriguez’ own coming back negative, has made the UFC
pull her from her fight with Carla
Esparza. The two were set to come to blows on the
UFC Fight Night card on July 15, with the bout taking place on
Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is unclear if the
promotion will seek a replacement, or if the match will be
relocated to a future card.
Potentially unaware of this news, Rodriguez posted on her Instagram after the
report came out to claim that she was “in the game” after days
spent quarantined in a Brazilian hotel. Rodriguez responded to a
request about her fight being scratched by saying it was “fake
news.” Should this bout indeed be off, it would be the third bout
from this card on Friday to be axed due to positive tests. Both
Anderson
dos Santos and Vinicius
Moreira Castro tested positive for COVID-19 and were
forced out of their bouts.
Rodriguez (12-0-2) has yet to taste defeat as a pro, although in
her 14 career fights, she has fought to a draw on two separate
occasions. Most recently, Rodriguez engaged with Cynthia
Calvillo to produce a majority draw on the scorecards in
December. Her promotional debut in 2018 was the same way, drawing
with Randa
Markos. All four of the Brazilian’s bouts inside the Octagon
have gone the distance.
Inaugural strawweight champ Esparza (16-6) is riding a three-fight
win streak, where she earned the unusual distinction of taking
unanimous, majority and split verdicts one after the other. This
winning three-bout stretch is her longest since she joined the UFC
in 2014. Throughout her career, “Cookie Monster” holds wins over
former champ Rose
Namajunas, the aforementioned Calvillo and Michelle
Waterson.
The July 15 event will be headlined by a featherweight tilt between
Calvin
Kattar and Dan Ige, and it
will be held on “Fight Island” in the UAE. The co-main event of
that evening is a bantamweight scrap pitting Frankie
Edgar against Pedro
Munhoz.