As we know the Coronavirus has played havoc with UFC cards as of late and UFC London is the latest victim. Set to take place on March 21st from the O2 Arena, it now looks as though this won’t happen.
UFC President Dana White stated that the event will happen, just not in London as planned.
Dana White announces that next week’s UFC card is not happening in London anymore.
They are currently working on finding a new venue for the event and are hoping Woodley vs. Edwards will be on it. White says they are working to put together a new slate of fights for the card.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 15, 2020
Easy Decision
This was seemingly an easy decision for White to make. We can appreciate his hands were tied but very little thought has seemingly gone into this plan. Now, less than one week out from the event, when many fans have booked accommodation and travel, the venue is simply going to change.
A similar situation happened this past weekend at UFC Brasilia, where the event happened behind closed doors.
For fans from the UK, this is a massive blow. Not only are people unlikely to be able to go to the event now but it will likely be another year until there is a UFC card held in Britain. Yes, the UFC Dublin card is coming up but the likelihood of that selling out in seconds is extremely high.
With only one regular show per year, the British fans will be gutted to wake up to the news that the card is in jeopardy. White confirmed that the UFC London card will have alterations, with some fights being scrapped.
We can only hope that the UFC pay the fighters their show money, similar to what Bellator did this past weekend. Fighters have gone through their training camps and possibly even travelled down to the capital. They will now wake up to the news that the card is changing location.
And White continues to maintain none of these events will be canceled, but considering he said they were working on new fights for the now ex-London card, appears some fights will be scrapped.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 15, 2020
Headline Act
UFC London was scheduled to feature a headline between deserving contender Leon Edwards and former champion, Tyron Woodley. With the travel ban set to be put in place early next week, it is unclear if this fight will take place.
The likelihood of this fight going ahead is extremely slim, as pointed out by Ariel Helwani.
Worth noting, it’s 4:22 am in Birmingham, England. To assume Leon Edwards is just going to fly to the USA prior to this travel ban with his team — with no guarantee of where this fight is taking place or that he can even get back home — is a big assumption, in my opinion.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 15, 2020
Keep it locked to MMASucka this week as we provide all the UFC London updates as they happen.
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