Dana White told TMZ Sports that he has secured a private island for fights and the UFC will be back to running events after UFC 249. He also says that there will be medical and safety checks in place for all fighters, staff and others involved when the UFC comes back April 18th.
White stated that he has the venue on the island for two months and they will have events every week. This will include international fights too with fighters from overseas. This seems to address the issue with certain travel restrictions and visas during this time.
Payout Perspective:
This weekend’s phone conference between President Trump and sports commissioners likely came with some sort of financial carrot. Notably, MLB is also thinking of ways to come back on a quick turnaround. White and the UFC has been thinking of ways to get around closures since the shutdown began. With UFC 249 taking place somewhere in the U.S. and the next week fights happening at an undisclosed location, it seems like the plan is coming together. But how will the execution look. Moreover, White stated in an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN that the fighters will not know where they are going which makes the whole process that much more uncertain for the athlete. At a time when they are cutting weight and depend on their coaches and family, they will be going somewhere unknown to them.
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