The UFC Apex in Las Vegas could be the host for a number of the promotion’s events beginning in May.
In an email to Variety, UFC president Dana White revealed that the facility has been targeted for upcoming cards after the coronavirus pandemic forced the organization to postpone four recent events in March and April.
“We built the Apex facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic,” White wrote. “Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future.”
Unveiled in 2019, the UFC Apex is a 130,000 square foot production facility adjacent to the promotion’s headquarters in Las Vegas. Last year, the venue was host to Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series. Due to the ongoing pandemic, all upcoming events would be closed to the public.
Like most of the United States, Nevada is currently under a stay-at-home order until April 30 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, the Nevada State Athletic Commission canceled a March 25 meeting that would have addressed the status of combat sports in the state due to ongoing safety concerns. The UFC is expecting Nevada to lift those restrictions enough so that the promotion can hold closed-door events in Las Vegas by May, according to the report.
Meanwhile, White told Yahoo Sports that the much-discussed Fight Island is expected to be ready by the middle of May. In theory, the venue there will host bouts featuring international athletes who are not able to make it to the United States as a result of travel restrictions.
“We’re going to run through the American fighters pretty quickly, so we have to get that up and ready to roll,” White said.
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White has not, however, revealed the location for the upcoming event targeted for May 9 which features a trio of title bouts at the top of the bill. According to Yahoo Sports, the card will be known as UFC 249. White originally attempted to move UFC 249 to tribal land in Lemoore, California on April 18, but it was postponed when ESPN and Disney executives asked him to stand down. White has built a 12-bout card for the event, but not all the fights have been finalized — leaving some room for changes in the coming weeks.
“It’s been a long time and we have a lot of guys who want to fight,” White said. “Believe me when I tell you, I agree with you that top to bottom, this is probably the best card we’ve ever done, but it could get better.”
Another possible location for the newly-announced UFC 249 is Florida, which recently updated its list of essential services in the state to include “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production — only if the location is closed to the general public.”
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