The UFC has two more events scheduled for Jacksonville this week, on Wednesday and SaturdayGETTY IMAGES
UFC President Dana White left Saturday’s PPV event in Jacksonville "optimistic about the near-term future" of the promotion following its first event in nearly two months, according to Morgan Campbell of the N.Y. TIMES. White held up UFC 249 as "proof that under the right guidelines, pro sports events could proceed safely." The UFC has two more events scheduled for Jacksonville this week, on Wednesday and Saturday, and White is "seeking clearance from the Nevada Athletic Commission to host fights on May 23 at the UFC’s Apex Center in Las Vegas" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/11).White said, “We’ll improve. We’ll be better on Wednesday than we were tonight and we’ll be better next Saturday than we are on Wednesday" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/10).
WELCOME BACK! In Jacksonville, Clayton Freeman noted UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena jarred the athletic world "back to life after 57 days in deep freeze amid the uncertainty and chaos of the coronavirus pandemic." It was "perhaps the most surreal setting in the history of the arena, drained of spectators," but "fans or no fans, sports were back." Fighters, cornermen and even media members "endured swabs jammed several inches up their nasal passages, underwent blood tests and donned masks both inside and outside the arena -- just about everywhere except within the octagon itself." UFC "designated a staff member to enter the octagon between bouts, blasting the floor and the cage surface with disinfectant" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/10). In N.Y., Campbell & Draper wrote the UFC "wanted to ensure that, with something of a monopoly on fan attention, the main event from UFC 249 entertained," and the fighters "delivered violence." Endeavor President Mark Shapiro, whose company owns UFC, said, “We are not putting fights on to satisfy any contracts or because of any particular financial situation at Endeavor." Instead, Shapiro and UFC officials have said that their efforts are "in service of the athletes, who do not get paid unless they perform." Shapiro: “We have fighters itching to fight, and that have contracts that require us to put them into an octagon" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/10).
DEALING WITH A POSITIVE TEST: ESPN’s Ariel Helwani said there were "never any serious discussions about canceling the event" after Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza tested positive to COVID-19 on Friday. His fight with Uriah Hall was called off as a result (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 5/9). The NATIONAL POST's Steve Simmons writes he was "just a little uncomfortable that the UFC went ahead with its show" after Souza was scratched (NATIONAL POST, 5/10). However, White after the card said, “Tonight was absolutely, positively a home run. And the (Souza) thing is a home run, too. You want everyone to be negative, but we’re going to be doing like 1,100-plus tests this week, and somebody was going to be positive. It’s impossible not to (happen). What you don’t want to do is find out two days after the fight a guy tested positive” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/11). White said that the way the UFC handled testing "could provide a blueprint for sports leagues looking to return." White: "The system we put in place worked. The way this week went will just get better. The longer this goes, the better the testing technology is going to get and the faster it will get" (L.A. TIMES, 5/11).
WORKING WITHIN THE NEW NORMAL: ESPN.com's Jeff Wagenheim wrote an empty arena "somehow did not detract from the moment." Fans "heard every shot land" and heard "television broadcasters being fans." This was a "return of something bigger than the UFC." However, there are "adjustments to be made" and "before this run of events can be deemed a full success, all of the fighters, cornermen, officials and promotion personnel must return home safe and healthy, without spreading the virus" (ESPN.com, 5/10). In Las Vegas, Adam Hill wrote even "ignoring the lack of crowd noise, it was impossible to not take note of the cornermen, camera operators and minimal amount of personnel in the building all wearing face masks" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/10).
