Lyman Good is the first active UFC fighter to come out and say he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Good, a former Bellator champion and current middleweight, tested positive prior to his canceled fight at UFC 249 with Belal Muhammed. The fight was scratched before the card was ultimately canceled, but Good claimed his exit was due to an injury.
That was decided as a way to not set off a panic among the MMA community over his positive test result, he told ESPN.
Lyman Good Describes Battle With Coronavirus
“There’s a pandemic, it is a real thing happening. But I didn’t wanna stoke the flames, so to speak, and influence the fear factor of other people,” Good said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “I just want to let everyone know I’m much better now. At the end of the day, it was a risk that we were willing to take. As a fighter, I knew what the risks were. Unfortunately it is what it is. It happened.
“I figured let me just make sure that I have it or not. Also for the safety for my coaches. My coach was showing up every morning to my training sessions; my teammates, my family, and everybody else. Really, what I held into account was the safety of others.
“My real concern was really just my teammates, my coaches and anyone I was exposed to. “God forbid they get it, they spread it, and someone else gets sick really bad. I would feel responsible.”
Good captured the first-ever Bellator welterweight title in 2009 with a win over Omar de la Cruz in the finals of a tournament. He lost it in his first defense vs. Ben Askren.
In 2015, Good signed with the UFC after winning the CFFC welterweight title. He has gone 3-2 since and sits at 21-5 following a 2019 win over Chance Rencountre.