Very nearly all sports in the United States are shut down, as are countless international events. However, the UFC is attempting to fight on, as it were. Saturday's UFC on ESPN+ 28 was held in Brazilia, Brazil, with spectators prohibited. Next Saturday's UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London, England was scheduled to go on with fans. UFC on ESPN 8 on 3/28 and UFC on ESPN+ 30 on 4/11 were moved to the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Columbus, Ohio and Portland, Oregon, respectively.
However, travel restrictions on flights from England were recently announced, and Nevada has canceled all events up until 3/25, with the clear possibility that cancelation could continue after that.
UFC president Dana White appeared ESPN's SportsCenter, and vowed to continue holding events, on schedule.
“Unless there’s a total shutdown of the country where people can’t leave their houses and things like that, these fights will happen,” said White, as transcribed by Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie. “We’re gonna move on. These guys will compete. We will find venues, and we will figure this thing out. I mean, the only thing that’s gonna stop us is a complete government shutdown where everyone is confined to their homes.”
“Obviously things are changing by the hour. [Saturday] morning they announced new travel restrictions for the U.K. So the fight obviously can’t continue in London, but the fight will go on. We’re working on finding a new venue, likely in the United States, and I have my matchmakers working right now to put together the undercard. The bottom line is that fight is happening, and the main event will go on.”
“So we had possibly a couple of different venues for that fight, including Nevada. So now the whole Nevada thing went down. We’re looking for another venue. I hope by 10 o’clock [Sunday] morning I should have two venue options for that fight. That fight will happen. It will go on. The fans are all freaking out, but don’t worry. That fight will happen.”
“As of now, the [3/28 and 4/11] fights can’t happen at the Apex here in Las Vegas. We’re working to find new locations, but the fights will go on. They will continue. We’re not stopping. We will keep finding a way to put on the fights. I’m in the fight business. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and this stuff happens to me every weekend. So, I’m used to this stuff. Not at this level obviously, but this is what we do. And we always make sure that the cards happen, and they will continue to happen.”