UFC gets green light to resume

NEW YORK • The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) plans to hold at least three events in Florida next month with the blessing of state regulators and elected officials.

The events, which are sanctioned by the Florida State Boxing Commission, would be the mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation's first fights since the shutdown of sports worldwide because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UFC has scheduled events for May 9, 13 and 16 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, according to an official statement.

The first will be a pay-per-view event headlined by a title bout between No. 1 lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje - the same fight that was supposed to headline an event last weekend in California but was cancelled.

Line-ups for the two other events were not announced, but UFC president Dana White is confident they will all go ahead without a hitch.

"I can't wait to deliver some great fights for the fans," he said. "My team is ready to go and the fighters are excited to get back in there with these back-to-back events."

Fans will, however, be barred from attending the fights, leading Jackonsville Mayor Lenny Curry to call the plan "safe and sensible".

He added: "As we move step-by-step on the path toward economic recovery, we are proud to host these UFC events."

Plans by White to hold fights throughout the outbreak have so far been stymied by state governments' stay-at-home mandates for workers deemed non-essential.

He went so far as to try to hold UFC 249 on tribal land, which is considered sovereign territory, in California without disclosing its location, but state officials expressed concerns about the plan to Disney and ESPN.

Disney owns ESPN, which pays the UFC hundreds of millions of dollars annually to broadcast its fights.

When White called off the event, he said he had received calls from "the highest level" at Disney and ESPN asking him to axe the event.

In Florida, however, the UFC has found a welcoming home.

Earlier this month, the state's Division of Emergency Management amended the list of essential services, adding "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience".

This has allowed World Wrestling Entertainment to hold televised events in the state and will apparently let the UFC do the same.

Having state and local governments on board, as well as the state's boxing commission, has mollified concerns that ESPN - whose viewership, with few live events airing, has fallen dramatically - might have had about the event.

"We look forward to bringing UFC to fans again," the network said in a statement.

With the logistical issues of finding a suitable venue out the way, White must now ensure the safety of his fighters and make sure the risks of contracting Covid-19 are as low as humanly possible.

Asked by ESPN on Friday if the fighters would be tested for the coronavirus, he would only say the UFC is "going to spend a lot of money to make sure the people are safe".

He added there was a possibility for another event on May 23 while he presses forward with a plan to hold bouts on a mystery private island outside the US in June.

NYTIMES