UFC Now Targets May 30th For Post-Jacksonville Event
The UFC looks to be pushing ahead a targeted event to a week later. UFC is running a show tonight and another card this coming Saturday in Jacksonville but will not be in Florida for their late May event. The promotion was initially targeting May 23rd but May 30th is purportedly the new date the promotion is looking at. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation spoke to MMA Junkie about this initially. The sources requested anonymity as the UFC has yet to roll out an official statement on the rescheduling of this card.
UFC On May 30th
The date change is worth noting but the promotion will also be changing locations. It is not yet confirmed where UFC will go next. Promotional figurehead DanaWhite has expressed a desire to run event out of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. This is far from a lock though as Nevada still has a ways to go in figuring out their reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nevada Athletic Commission would have to approve MMA operations prior to anything going forward with an event.
UFC has to wait for a state-wide regulatory go ahead but they’ve been working on what they can. The promotion had a coronavirus testing plan in place for the recent UFC 249 event on May 9th. A plan that was described as careful but perhaps one that was implemented in a bit of a “spotty” fashion. The purportedly scrapped May 23rd card was targeting Tyron Woodley vs Gilbert Burns as the main event. Whether this will still serve as the main event on the rescheduled May 30th card is unclear at this juncture.
Other bouts that were slated to go for the May 23rd card include Blagoy Ivanov vs. Augusto Sakai, Klidson Abreu vs. Jamahal Hill, and Mackenzie Dern vs Hannah Cifers.
