ESPN reports that the UFC plans to hold an event May 9th on PPV with the anticipated main event being Tony Ferguson taking on Justin Gaethje. Dana White then told Variety in an Exclusive story that they are planning on the fights taking place at The Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended all combat sports activity within the
state in late March and would not grant licenses for fighters until further
notice. The state is under a state-at-home
order through April 30. With the news that
White intends to hold events, without an audience, at The Apex the company has information
that leads them to believe that the state will allow for that event to take
place.
If there is a snag, the UFC could always look to Florida which has given the green light to sports as an essential business during this pandemic.
Payout Perspective:
Even with the news that The Apex may host UFC fights, the concern of coming to back is real. At this point, the announcement did not coincide with specific ways to ensure everyone’s safety. Moreover, there has yet to be an independent medical expert out in front of this stating that it is safe to come back. We just have a bunch of people giving ideas on how you can make things safe. While I want sports to come back, how selfish are we to want it back before we find a solution to COVID-19? The economy is taking a hit and people are hurting financially so people are willing to risk their lives to fight (how ironic). But, the question is if coming back too soon will cause a relapse in dealing with the virus and thereby setting back any gains in defeating it.
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