Following today’s UFC on ESPN+ 28, the next two major events on the MMA calendar may both be forced into changes, with the U.K. government set to introduce new laws banning mass gatherings in a bid to curb the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
UFC on ESPN+ 29 is scheduled to take place at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, March 21, with Cage Warriors 113 due to take place at the arena’s smaller venue, indigo at The O2, the day before.
Both UFC president Dana White and Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan previously stated that their promotions’ respective events would go ahead as planned, but news emerging from the U.K. Saturday may force both organizations to change their plans.
So far the U.K. government, headed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been an outlier in its approach to the coronavirus crisis. While other nations have issued bans on public gatherings, closed schools and – in the case of Italy – issued curfews, Johnson’s government has instead looked to minimize change, as they have moved their response level out of the “Contain” phase to the “Delay” phase, with citizens exhibiting symptoms told to self-isolate for seven days, regardless of whether they have traveled to affected areas.
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However, the government’s stance on the issue has attracted widespread criticism from opposition parties and members of the public, who have questioned the country’s response as insufficient.
But that could soon be about to change, with a government source telling news agency Reuters that plans were being formulated to curb mass gatherings beginning next week.
“Ministers are working with the chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer on our plan to stop various types of public events, including mass gatherings, beginning next week,” the source said.
The English Premier League, the U.K.’s largest and most financially significant sports league, has suspended all matches until April 4, while the London Marathon, originally set for April 26, has been pushed back to Oct. 4.
The introduction of an official ban on mass gatherings could potentially impact a host of major U.K.-based events in the summer, including the Wimbledon tennis championships, the Grand National horse race, English soccer’s FA Cup final and the Glastonbury music festival. If introduced this week, the Cage Warriors and UFC events set for March 20 and 21 could potentially be among the first events affected.
With the fighters for both events likely to either already be in London, or en route from overseas, the promotions may decide to hold their events as behind-closed-doors shows. White had already hinted at that possibility during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter, saying that, as things stood Friday, fans will still be admitted to the event, but if local authorities determined between now and fight time to close the event to fans, the company would comply.
Cage Warriors president Boylan, meanwhile, told MMA Junkie Thursday that the organization would be guided by the venue, saying, their approach would be “business as usual until we hear otherwise from the venue.”
