Any boxing promoters thinking about emulating Dana White, who has been determined to keep his sport going during the coronavirus pandemic, should forget it.
The head of UFC gave up on his efforts to stage UFC 249 on April 18 on Native American land in central California under pressure from broadcast partner ESPN and parent company Disney, which obviously had no interest in televising the event. And future UFC events reportedly have been postponed indefinitely.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed concerns over the event to Disney, according to The New York Times. And officials at Disney contacted White.
ESPN issued a statement that read: “ESPN has been in constant contact with the U.F.C. regarding U.F.C. 249. Nobody wants to see sports return more than we do, but we didn’t feel this was the right time for a variety of reasons. ESPN expressed its concerns to the U.F.C. and they understood.”
White’s plan was to stage the card, originally scheduled for Brooklyn, without spectators.The main event was scheduled to be Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje after Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out.
White told ESPN only days ago that he is “going to continue to pump fights out” in spite of widespread lock downs. He ultimately planned to showcase his product on an undisclosed private island, an idea that many people found fascinating.
And then the counter pressure proved to be too much.
“The powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event next Saturday,” White said.
He went on: “These are people that I am partners with, people whom I have a lot of respect with, and I’m going to do it, I’m going to say yes [to requests to postpone the April 18 card].”
ESPN reported that all other scheduled UFC events also have been postponed.