The Ultimate Fighting Championship will return with a very busy schedule as it plans to hold three mixed martial events next month.
The world’s most prestigious MMA organization is currently on a hiatus as it postponed its upcoming shows due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aiming to become the first sports brand to return to normal schedule, the UFC is slated to bring the stacked UFC 249 fight card on May 9, with an intriguing interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje set to headline the event.
“At some point, we have to figure out, ‘How do we get things back to normal,’ but do it in a really safe way. The only way to find out is to get out there and start doing it,” UFC president Dana White recently told Yahoo Sports.
Expensive
The upcoming pay-per-view event will take place at an arena in Jacksonville, Florida but it will be held behind closed doors to ensure the fighters’ health and safety.
“We’re going to spend a lot of money. It’s not going to be cheap. It’s going to be expensive,” White said.
“You’re worried about the health and safety of everybody: The health and safety of the fighters, the commission, the referees, my staff that’s going to be there.”
“It’s not cheap. It’s expensive. It’s hard, but somebody’s got to take the first step and get out there.”
“Obviously, the world is going to be different and I’ve been thinking far ahead into the future.
“I don’t expect to have a gate for a very long time. I’ve already thrown that out the window. You have to look at all the different things. People think that I don’t take this seriously because I want to come back so fast and all this other stuff.”
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No Need For Crowd
Aside from UFC 249, the promotion will also conduct MMA events on May 13 and May 16 in Florida but it is not yet confirmed if these shows will be aired live on ESPN+.
According to a report from MMA Junkie, a light heavyweight bout featuring Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira will serve as the May 13’s card main event while a heavyweight fight between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris will headline the May 16 event.
Both cards will be a closed-door event.
“It’s not that I don’t take it seriously. I take it very seriously,” White said.
“I don’t plan on having a gate for a very long time. … I’m already thinking way ahead of these types of things. All I need to worry about is making sure everybody is safe and I can put on these events. I don’t need a crowd.”
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(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ UFC, Anthony Smith and Alistair Overeem)