Tag: APEX

For the first time since UFC 248 on March 7th, the UFC will return to Las Vegas.

Since the pandemic began, Dana White has wanted to host shows at their APEX facility in the city but regulations by Nevada had prevented that. At a Wednesday state athletic commission meeting, they approved both this Saturday’s show and UFC 250 on June 6th in what was essentially a formality given the timeframe.

UFC made adjustments to their COVID-19 procedures following their three show return in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier this month. The NAC also approved those procedures, but many of the details are still unknown as White has previously aired concerns about sharing information with the media.

Assuming things go well from a health standpoint on those two shows, APEX will be the primary U.S.-based home for the UFC until it makes financial sense to run shows in other cities. On the international front, it was rumored this week that “Fight Island” is actually Yas Island, a massive entertainment facility in Abu Dhabi, a facility that will feature cards with all international fighters until they are cleared to return to business as usual. In both cases, running shows with fans could be quite some time away.

White has said they will meet all their commitments for events in 2020 despite having to cancel five shows due to the pandemic. The aforementioned UFC 248 was their last event with any gate revenue.

Saturday’s 11-fight show will feature Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns in the main event while UFC 250 will feature featherweight champion Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer in the main event.

Image: UFC

Dana White’s plan to run shows out of the UFC’s Las Vegas-based APEX facility is alive once again as the UFC president told Variety Tuesday night that they will begin running events there starting in May.

“We built the APEX facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic. Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future,” he said in an email statement to the entertainment publication.

The reason that could happen is an expectation that Nevada will ease their non-essential business restrictions that extend through April 30th which would allow the company to run shows in front of empty seats. The state did not respond to Variety’s request for comment.

The news comes on the same day White told ESPN that he is planning on running a pay-per-view on Saturday, May 9th, at an yet-to-be-disclosed location, and the day after news broke that Florida has deemed sports organizations as essential businesses, opening up the door for UFC to potentially run an empty arena show there if they choose. How this would affect the mysterious “Fight Island”, if at all, is unclear.

White has had to cancel four shows thus far due to the coronavirus pandemic, including this Saturday’s UFC 249 as California governor Gavin Newsom reportedly intervened with Disney executives on not running a show on tribal land in Lemoore, CA. White said last Thursday that he had another state, governor, and commission on board even if Lemoore fell through, but was told not to move forward.

On Tuesday, White was named by President Donald Trump as one of the sports figureheads involved in a long list of business executives tasked with how to restart the country’s economy amid the pandemic.