The reason why Alexandre Pantoja won’t fight Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 17 on Dec. 19 is because the Brazilian flyweight is still struggling with COVID-19, he told MMA Fighting on Friday.
Pantoja was set to welcome former RIZIN bantamweight champion to the octagon in the final UFC card of the year in Las Vegas, but is still under quarantine three weeks after his inicial positive test for the novel coronavirus.
“I’m better now,” Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “But I felt really bad for a week. Fever, loss of taste… I can feel the taste and smell of things now, but still tested positive on my last test on Monday.