Fans won’t be seeing Marlon Moraes inside the octagon anytime soon.
The top ranked bantamweight has tested positive for the coronavirus alongside his wife. Moraes’ wife spent a day in the hospital; however, both felt the symptoms of the virus when it first struck.
"Unfortunately, I got the virus -- me and my wife. We were very weak, the symptoms were very strong on us. Thank God I didn't need to go to the hospital, but I had to take my wife to the hospital," Moraes told ESPN Brazil. "We spent a day at the hospital. She was treated by them, she took some medicines, then she stayed under observation."
Luckily, both are expected to be fine and this shouldn’t affect Moraes from making his octagon return sometime in the fall. The bantamweight last fought in December 2019 at UFC 245 where he got a split decision victory over former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.
Recently, Moraes called out former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt for turning down a potential match-up in October. It’s expected for Garbrandt and Moraes to square off against one another, though the bout hasn’t been made official just yet.