Welterweight Dwight Grant announced via Instagram on Monday that he tested positive for the virus and his bout vs. Jingliang Li has been canceled.
“Hey what's up everyone? I gotta give y'all some bad news, I'm not going to be fighting this weekend. My last Covid 19 test came back positive but luckily the symptoms haven't been severe,” Grant wrote. “This news hit especially hard because of all the hard work and excitement I have for this fight. It's out of my control so im not going to try not to dwell on it too much, but to call it disappointing is an understatement.
“So now I’m focusing all my energy on getting better. Im going to quarantine and by the grace of God, be able to fight again soon. Thank you everyone for all your support. I’ll be back even more determined and fired up to go.”
The promotion has not announced if Grant vs. Li will be rescheduled or if a replacement opponent will be sought for “The Leech.” UFC 256 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a flyweight title clash between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
A competitor on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Grant is coming off a first-round KO loss ot Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 15. The American Kickboxing Academy representative is 2-2 in UFC competition.