The UFC on Monday postponed its next three events that were scheduled until April 11, finally scrapping company president Dana White’s plan to keep the billboards during the coronavirus pandemic.
The UFC will not hold its scheduled show for Saturday, which was to take place before a packed arena in London. The company will also not hold the fighting on March 28 and April 11.
“It’s just impossible,” White told ESPN, the UFC’s broadcast partner. “We can not do it”.
White insists that the UFC 249 feature remains in place for April 18, although it does not have a venue. Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is scheduled to face Tony Ferguson in the biggest match of the spring within the company.
“We are waiting for all of this to be over in April,” White said. “The fight is going to be done. No audience or whatever. Probably not even in the United States, but the fight is going to be done. “
The UFC eventually joined the rest of the world’s major sports leagues in postponing its events, but only after White heard the White House’s recommendations Monday to avoid rallies of more than 10 people.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever or cough. In some cases, especially in the elderly and people with previous illnesses, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild symptoms recover in about two weeks, while the most severe cases have a recovery period of three to six weeks.
For the past week White had vowed to continue staging fights as the public health crisis worsened, and the UFC held a 12-fight performance on Saturday in an empty arena in Brasilia, Brazil. White said a “total country shutdown” would be required to prevent it from continuing to host functions while the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR and NCAA postponed or canceled their events. AP