Glover Teixeira tests positive for COVID-19, fight against Thiago Santos rescheduled

UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira tested positive for COVID-19, and the UFC has rescheduled his upcoming fight against Thiago Santos.

Combate reported that Teixeira tested positive for the coronavirus. He was set to meet Santos in the main event of the UFC Fight Night card scheduled to take place on September 12 in Las Vegas. However, that fight has now been rescheduled to the October 3 card that is headlined by women’s bantamweight contenders Holly Holm and Irene Aldana. The main event of the September 12 card is undetermined at this time, per Combate.

Apuração em parceria com a @AnaHissa: Glover Teixeira testou positivo pra Covid-19 e a luta contra Thiago Marreta foi transferida para 3 de outubro, na Ilha da Luta. #feedmma

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) September 3, 2020

Determination in partnership with @AnaHissa : Glover Teixeira tested positive for Covid-19 and the fight against Thiago Marreta was transferred to October 3, at Ilha da Luta. #feedmma

The fight between Teixeira and Santos will likely decide who is next in line to fight the winner of UFC 253’s Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes vacant title fight. Teixeira and Santos are both ranked in the top-five of the UFC light heavyweight division and so the winner would very likely be slotted into the next 205lbs title fight, likely sometime in 2021.

Teixeira (31-7) is one of the oldest fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division at age 40, but he continues to dominate his opponents. The veteran Brazilian has won his last four fights in a row over Anthony Smith, Nikita Krylov, Ion Cutelaba, and Karl Roberson. The Smith victory in May was in particular very impressive for Teixeira as he completely dominated Smith for nearly 25 full minutes before getting a late stoppage. Despite his age, Teixeira is still a top title contender at 205lbs.

Santos (21-7) has not fought since UFC 239 in July 2019. He nearly became the UFC light heavyweight champion that night as he fought tooth-and-nail with Jon Jones for the belt. Ultimately, he lost a narrow split decision, but even worse he injured both of his knees in the fight and had surgery on both of them. Santos has been out of the cage for over a year and after the injury, it’s hard to say if he will still be an elite fighter in his return. But prior to the Jones loss, Santos has been knocking everyone out including Jan Blachowicz, Jimi Manuwa, and Anthony Smith, so if he can return to form, watch out.

Who do you think wins, Glover Teixeira or Thiago Santos?