MMA
UFC Fight Night Brazil will take place in an empty arena due to coronavirus pandemic
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Due to the coronavirus outbreak, just about every major professional and college sports organization has postponed or canceled their seasons and tournaments. In the world of combat sports, the March 28 boxing card on DAZN in Inglewood, Calif., headlined by Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Samuel Vargas, has been postponed by the California State Athletic Commission, which announced all combat sports events won't take place in the month of March.
Another major boxing event was postponed when Top Rank announced its Saturday and Tuesday events at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden would not be held.
The UFC, however, will continue with its Fight Night card on Saturday in an empty Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil. The card is headlined by lightweights Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira.
The UFC did cancel its scheduled media day on Thursday and the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday.
Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha said on Thursday that he'd let events take place behind closed doors pending authorization from the Federal District's health surveillance. Rocha released a statement on Wednesday saying sporting events and gatherings with more than 100 people would be postponed until March 16. Currently, there are over 70 cases of coronavirus in the South American country, which is double the number of cases from Wednesday.
DAZN News reached out to a UFC official on Thursday to see if all 24 fighters have been tested for the coronavirus but hadn't received a response at this time of writing.
As of Thursday morning, there have been 1,323 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, along with 38 deaths n the United States. Globally, the total confirmed cases are now over 127,000, with the number of deaths at 4,717.
Notable cases of coronavirus include Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita.
