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UFC 249 delivers a welcome distraction from pandemic-afflicted world

UFC 249 ended like we thought it would — spectacularly. It was an incredible show filled with exciting fights, unexpected moments and all of the things that make mixed martial arts so great.

Getting to the starting line, though, was a problem, and that has nothing to do with when the card was originally scheduled for April 18.

When news broke on Friday that middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and two of his cornermen had tested positive for COVID-19, it was like a kick to the gut.

Without any other information and knowing only that Souza had the coronavirus and was out of his hotly anticipated fight with Uriah Hall, it felt like this horrible year was going to continue to take its vengeance out on us.