UFC President Dana White still intends to go forward with fighting events as fears about coronavirus grow.
The UFC held fights Saturday night down in Brazil without fans, and it was pretty much the only sports on television. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Kevin Lee holds on after @CharlesDoBronxs forces the tap at #UFCBrasilia pic.twitter.com/k7zXrA8E1k
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 15, 2020
However, the state of Nevada has suspended fighting events because of coronavirus, and that has people wondering whether or not White will push forward.
Sources: Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended all combat sporting events indefinitely due to #COVIDー19. Canelo-Saunders can’t be scheduled until ban lifted. Affects UFC events relocated to APEX (March 28 & April 11) along with PBC (March 28) and Top Rank (April 11)
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) March 14, 2020
Well, he made it clear following the events late Saturday during an ESPN interview that he has every intention of continuing the fights “unless there’s a total shutdown of the country.” He reassured fans that Khabib/Ferguson would take place at UFC 249 in April.
You can listen to his full comments below.
Dana White says the UFC fights will continue.
“We’re not stopping. We will keep finding a way to put on the fights.” pic.twitter.com/7ixxpFjTSz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 15, 2020
Say whatever you want about White, but there’s no doubt he’s holding the line. While the rest of the sports world caved and caved quickly, the man running the UFC absolutely wants to keep fighting.
They might ban the fans, but it sounds like White will find a way.
View this post on Instagram
I’ll also say this, it was a bit weird watching the fights last night with no fans in attendance. It was very strange to watch them battle it out with nobody cheering them on.
Still, it was better than getting nothing at all. We’ll see if White continues to maintain this stance. As of right now, it sounds like has no issue with continuing to hold fights.
UFC President @danawhite joined @SportsCenter to confirm reports that #UFCBrasilia will take place in an empty arena with only “the staff that’s running event.”
He added that #UFCLondon “will proceed as planned” and #UFCColumbus be moved to the UFC Apex facility. pic.twitter.com/IqjcvWdXEO
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 13, 2020