Let’s turn the clock back to March 11, 2020. In the MMA world, the UFC was gearing up for a Fight Night card in Brasilia, Brazil the following Saturday. At the time, Dana White‘s promotion was going full-speed ahead and everything appeared to be going according to plan.
The very same day, however, the entire world changed. All facets of life which were seemingly perfunctory the previous day were now suddenly put into their proper place. Grocery store employees, for instance, found themselves being classified as essential workers.
Social distancing became a part of the greater lexicon in the United States overnight. Sporting events, for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, were postponed or canceled en masse.
Cancellation of Sports Quickly Spread, Forcing UFC to Make First Adjustments of Pandemic Era
At the time of the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, major college athletic conferences decided to restrict attendance to their basketball tournaments effective the next day. That fateful March evening, there were five games on the schedule in the NBA. In Oklahoma City, the Utah Jazz were scheduled to play the Thunder.
This game wouldn’t take place on the night, however. Then-Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first athlete in American sports to return a positive test for the virus, forcing NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to suspend play at the close of that night’s contests.
All games that were in-progress at the announcement of the suspension were played to a final score. A later game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings, scheduled for a national broadcast on ESPN, was also postponed out of concern for a referee who worked a recent game involving the Utah Jazz.
Less than 24 hours later, all leagues that normally would have been in competition at the time had seasons suspended, or in the case of the NCAA, canceled entirely. In response, the following moves regarding the Fight Night card that weekend were made:
- Spectators were barred from the show.
- No ceremonial weigh-ins took place.
- No media day was held.
- ESPN’s onsite UFC Fight Night studio show was moved outside the venue.
UFC Brasilia Proves to Be Last Show for Two Months
The following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night from Brasilia, Brazil went on as scheduled. Due to the early conclusion of the 2019-2020 college basketball season, the show was aired linearly on ESPN proper, in addition to being streamed on ESPN+ as replacement programming for scrubbed tournament semifinals and championship games.
As far as the event itself, just three fights on the card ended inside the distance, all on the main card. That evening’s main event saw Charles Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC MMA, 23-10, 1 NC UFC) lock in a guillotine choke against Kevin Lee (20-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) during the third round.
Earlier in the evening, Gilbert Burns (22-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) finished Demian Maia (28-11 MMA, 22-11 UFC) with a first-round knockout, while Renato Moicano (20-6-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) scored a rear-naked choke versus Damir Hadzovic (14-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) inside the bout’s opening minute.
UFC Returns After Hiatus, Makes Apex Nerve Center During Pandemic
After a two-month pause in action due to bans put in place on combat sports due to COVID, action resumed with three cards in seven days from Jacksonville, FL at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. beginning with UFC 249 the night before Mother’s Day.
Upon the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) agreeing to lift its moratorium on combat sports, the UFC Apex became the home for the promotion the Saturday after Memorial Day. Save for three residencies on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, every pay-per-view and Fight Night for the next year would be held at the Apex.
It wasn’t until April of 2021 that the promotion held a pay-per-view with a full audience in a traditional arena setting with UFC 261.
Final Thoughts
While the organization’s refusal to hold events with crowd restrictions in-place annoyed some fans, the UFC took the bad hand they were dealt with because of COVID-19 and it came up aces. Years later, they handled everything splendidly.
