Two UFC events moved to Las Vegas, to take place with ‘only essential personnel’

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, March 12, 2020 | 7:17 p.m.

The UFC is one of the few sports organizations making plans to move forward despite widespread coronavirus cancelations among other major leagues.

The locally based mixed martial arts promotion made that clear Thursday night when it announced the relocation of two events, a pair of UFC Fight Night cards airing on various ESPN platforms, to Las Vegas. Both events will be held with “only essential personnel in attendance and without spectators,” at the UFC Apex next to the organization’s headquarters off the 215 Beltway and Jones Boulevard.

The first card is scheduled for March 28 and features a main event between heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. It will be aired on ESPN.

The other card has another heavyweight headliner with veterans Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris squaring off. It will be streamed on ESPN+.

“You know I hate this but the decision has been made with the best interest of everyone involved with our events including fans, athletes, staff and media partners," UFC President Dana White said in a video statement.

An event scheduled for Saturday in Brasilia, Brazil, an ESPN+ card with local Kevin Lee taking on Charles Oliveira in the main event, will go on without a live audience.

The UFC announced it made the changes after Ohio and Oregon, where the relocated events were slated to take place, respectively, passed ordinances barring large gatherings of people.

The biggest question remains the fate of UFC 249, which is supposed to be one of the biggest events of the year behind the long-anticipated lightweight championship matchup of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. It’s currently still scheduled to take place on April 18 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., but could be the next event to wind up at UFC Apex if the promotion is determined to stage it without postponement.

The UFC hasn’t given any indication that it will do anything other than continue with fights, as White said last week that his staff had been preparing for the possibility and planned to operate business as normal if possible.

“We’re going to adapt to all these unprecedented circumstances,” he said.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.