Florida Governor’s Memo Offers UFC A Chance to Return Sooner Than Expected

WWE was deemed as an essential business late on Monday night. The sports entertainment company can resume live television episodes from its Florida locations. These include the Orlando Performance Center, which played host to WrestleMania 36, and Full Sail University. However, ESPN Combat reporter Marc Raimondi put forth a question regarding the status of boxing and UFC events.

Florida offers a ray of hope to the UFC

The decision, outlined in a memo from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said, “The memo does not specify sports, as long as the event is closed to the general public.” 

The memo provides a day of hope to a host of other sport organizers, including the UFC. It further deems, “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including … athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team” and others as essential.

WWE will return to running live shows behind closed doors after weeks of airing pre-taped shows. The UFC could follow suit if they shift to Florida, as it offers the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts company an option to hold fights on the mainland.

Dana White says that he wants to hold fights to bring back normalcy to the country. However, he isn’t as bullish about having fans in the arena. The UFC President held UFC Fight Night 170 in Brasilia behind closed doors. He was prepared to do the same for further fight nights as well as the UFC 249 event. 

UFC had secured that Tachi Palace Casino Resort on tribal land in California. Reportedly, this was the venue for UFC 249. But a call from higher-ups at ESPN saw Dana White pull the plug on the event. The organization has suspended further events for a month, as it will take time to set up infrastructure on Fight Island.

Dana White said he would need a go-ahead from his broadcaster, with whom he has a good relationship. However, one assumes that securing a go-ahead will be much easier if the location in on mainland United States rather than an offshore location.