After weeks of insisting that UFC 249 would take place on on April 18, UFC president Dana White revealed Thursday that all future events – including UFC 249 – have been indefinitely suspended. White made the announcement to ESPN, stating that the decision was made after top-level executives at both Disney and ESPN intervened.
Last month on March 14, the UFC held an event behind closed doors in Brasilia, Brazil, even as the rest of the sports world – including the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball – had shut down. It wasn’t until bans on large gatherings around the nation and global travel restrictions picked up that the UFC postponed three events between March and early April..
UFC 249 was supposed to take place at Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, Calif, with the intention of bypassing statewide stay-at-home orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom as the casino is located on federally recognized tribal land and exempt from such orders.
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