The upcoming UFC 265 card just took a major hit after two-division champion Amanda Nunes tested positive for COVID-19, which means her fight with Julianna Pena has been scrapped.
Sources close to the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday following an initial report from ESPN.
Nunes was scheduled to defend her bantamweight title against Pena in the co-main event but unfortunately the bout has now been pulled from the card set for Houston on Aug. 7. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN that the plan is to rebook the fight for a later date once Nunes is healthy enough to return to action but there’s no timeline for when that might happen.
Nunes was making her return to action after successfully defending her featherweight title earlier this year in a lopsided first-round submission win over Megan Anderson.
As for Pena, she was seeking her first UFC title after joining the promotion as a winner from The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Pena has gone 6-2 in her UFC career including her most recent win over Sara McMann that helped her earn the title shot against Nunes.
With Nunes vs. Pena scrapped, the UFC 265 card will now seek to bump up a different fight to serve as the co-main event while an interim heavyweight title fight between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane headlines the card.