UFC on ESPN 19 Loses Three Bouts, Including Two Due to Positive COVID-19 Tests

Heckuva fight day here in Las Vegas thus far. Hope to see you all at 8PM ET on ESPN2. #Hermansson #Vettori

— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) December 5, 2020

UFC on ESPN 19 is down to eight bouts after a positive COVID-19 tests resulted in the cancellation Taila Santos vs. Montana De La Rosa and Nate Landwehr vs. Movsar Evloev. Meanwhile, Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden was a late scratch for reasons unrelated to COVID-19.

According to MMAFighting.com, a member of De La Rosa’s corner tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile MagicM MMA was first to report the cancellation of Landwehr vs. Evloev and Flick vs. Durden. Evoloev tested positive for COVID-19, while Flick vs. Durden was scrapped for undisclosed reasons. The promotion is targeting Dec. 19 to rebook Flick vs. Durden, per Best Fight Picks.

The UFC later confirmed all three cancellations in a statement.

UFC on ESPN 19 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori. Santos vs. De La Rosa was slated to be part of a six-bout main card that begins on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Landwehr vs. Evloev and Flick vs. Durden were slated for the preliminary draw, which is now expected to kick off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

A competitor on the Brazilian version of Dana White’s Contender Series, Santos rebounded from a split-decision defeat to Mara Romero Borella in her Octagon debut to outpoint Molly McCann at UFC on ESPN 13. De La Rosa is 4-2 within the Las Vegas-based promotion since a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 26” and most recently dropped a unanimous decision to Viviane Araujoat UFC Fight Night 176 on Sept. 5.

A former M-1 Global champion, Landwehr last appeared at UFC on ESPN 8, where he captured a unanimous decision victory against Darren Elkins. Evloev is 3-0 in UFC competition after kicking off his promotional tenure with victories against Seung Woo Choi, Enrique Barzola and Mike Grundy.

Flick was set for his Octagon debut after submitting Nate Smith on the Contender Series on Sept. 1. Durden is unbeaten in his last eight professional outings, but his first promotional foray resulted in a draw against Chris Gutierrez on Aug. 1.