All personnel involved in July's UFC events on Yas Island will be tested for the coronavirus before they arrive in Abu Dhabi, sources told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz, Damon Martin, and Mike Heck.
The reported protocol differs from the one that preceded the promotion's Jacksonville and Las Vegas shows in May and June. In those instances, individuals subject to COVID-19 tests - athletes, cornermen, UFC staff, and event personnel - were not tested until arriving at hotels in the host city.
Fighters based in the U.S. who are scheduled to compete at UFC 251 on July 11 will reportedly be flown to Las Vegas early next month to be tested for the coronavirus. Brazil-based athletes will apparently travel to Sao Paulo on July 1 and then quarantine in a hotel for two days before leaving the country.
Fighters and coaches are expected to travel to Abu Dhabi on charter flights, but details have yet to be revealed. Cruz, Martin, and Heck did not specify whether fighters will also be tested for COVID-19 upon arriving in the United Arab Emirates capital.
In addition to UFC 251, the promotion is scheduled to stage Fight Night events on Yas Island on July 15, 18, and 25. The UFC will reportedly use the same testing protocol ahead of each card.
Ronaldo Souza is thus far the only UFC fighter to test positive for the coronavirus ahead of a scheduled event, doing so prior to UFC 249 on May 9 in Florida. Souza's two cornermen also tested positive, and all three were removed from hotel premises before entering self-isolation.
The UFC also removed Matt Frevola from the UFC Fight Night card on June 20 in Las Vegas after his cornerman, fellow UFC fighter Billy Quarantillo, twice tested positive for COVID-19.
