UFC welterweight Lyman (Cyborg) Good has tested positive for COVID-19.
Good, a former Bellator champion, pulled out in early April of a planned bout against Belal Muhammad at UFC 249.
"Although I said it was due to an injury, it was actually because I tested positive for the COVID-19," he told ESPN.
Good, a New Yorker who said he had tried to limit his training to avoid the possibility of getting the virus, said fighters are "hard-wired" to battle through injuries.
"Man, there was one day where it was bad ... My body wasn't responding the way it normally does to sparring."
Good, concerned about the safety of his coaches, teammates and family, then got tested and the result was positive. He did it through a drive-through test in New Jersey, a process that took four hours.
"It was something out of a movie. It was surreal," he told ESPN.
Good, whose girlfriend also tested positive, said he has since recovered.
The April 18 UFC 249 card was eventually postponed because of the global pandemic.
Good (21-5-0) is 3-2-0 in the UFC, coming off a TKO win over Chance (Black Eagle) Rencountre in November.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2020.
The Canadian Press
