Coronavirus: Lyman Good becomes first active UFC fighter to reveal positive Covid-19 test
- Welterweight admits he pulled out of UFC 249 fight against Belal Muhammed because of diagnosis
- The 34-year-old originally said he withdrew because of injury, to avoid ‘feeding the imminent fear’ in US society
UFC welterweight Lyman Good has become the promotion’s first active fighter to announce a Covid-19 diagnosis, revealing his positive test for the coronavirus was behind his withdrawal from a proposed UFC 249 fight.
Former Bellator champion Good (21-5, one no contest) was set to fight Belal Muhammad (16-3) on the April 18 card, which was originally scheduled for Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The 34-year-old, who trains out of New York at Tiger Schulmann’s MMA, pulled out with an injury several weeks ago, while the UFC scrambled to find for a new location before ultimately scrapping the event at the behest of ESPN, and the broadcaster’s parent company Disney.
“Although I said it was due to an injury, it was actually because I had tested positive for Covid-19,” Good told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “As soon as I found out, I let everybody know.
“It was one of those things where it wasn’t sinking in that it could’ve been that. As fighters, we’re hard-wired to train through everything. If we catch a cold or little nagging injuries here or there, we’re trained to just pretty much fight through it.
“At first I thought it was that. But there was just one day where it was bad. My body wasn’t listening, it wasn’t responding the way it normally does to sparring.”