UFC fighter Jacare Souza who was set to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249 tonight, has tested positive for coronavirus along with two of his cornermen. Souza, along with his cornermen, were staying in the same Jacksonville hotel as many AEW stars.
Souza and his cornermen tested positive at the hotel after previously testing negative on arrival. Not all of the AEW roster was at that hotel, and some members of the roster already went home.
Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio said:
“So he arrives on Wednesday. Jacare lives in Orlando, so he did not fly in, he drove in from Orlando to Jacksonville with two or three cornermen, they were all in the same car. He had a relative who tested positive. He was fine, the cornermen were fine, they didn’t feel anything.
They got there, they were tested on arrival, they all tested negative. When he got there on Wednesday, he told them – I don’t know if he told them before Wednesday but he definitely told them on Wednesday – that he had a family member who tested positive and they tested him, he was negative and they told him to stay away from everyone and they told his corner people to stay away.
But they all tested negative. They come back today and tested again and they all – I don’t know if he had two or three cornermen so it’s possible that one of them didn’t test positive – but two of them did. But three tested positive today.
It was Jacksonville Hyatt Regency, about a mile from the building, it is the same hotel that a lot of the AEW talent, not all, is in right now, today. Because a lot of the talent stayed for the fight, I guess.
The AEW talent was there Wednesday and Thursday so some of them may have gone home today, and they would be coming back on the 20th, and they’d be there from the 20th to the 27th, would be the next time. A lot of them went home already, but they were in the same hotel.”
The sporting world is watching how the UFC and AEW make it through live sporting events. This is a definite minor set back. We won’t know how this will affect the AEW roster until they return on May 20th live show.
