Amanda Ribas positive for COVID-19, removed from UFC Vegas 26 bout with Angela Hill

UFC Vegas 26 is now down to nine bouts after Amanda Ribas and her father tested positive for COVID-19 and were forced to withdraw from the event just hours before it was set to begin.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Saturday afternoon. UFC officials later confirmed Ribas’ removal.

Ribas was set to face Angela Hill in a strawweight bout on the event’s main card at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Ribas and her father, Marcelo Ribas, were not suffering any symptoms of the virus, sources told MMA Fighting.

Ribas was making her return four months after her first UFC loss, a TKO setback to UFC Vegas 26 headliner Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257 in January. She had won four straight octagon bouts beforehand.

Hill was two months removed from a decision win over Ashley Yoder, her second defeat of the octagon vet. The victory snapped a two-fight skid.

UFC Vegas 26 is headlined by a flyweight bout between Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson. The card lost two bouts on Friday due to weight-cutting complications and illness respectively.