UFC 249 Postponed Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Mixed martial arts league UFC, a subsidiary of Endeavor, has decided to postpone UFC 249, originally scheduled for April 18, after sports cabler ESPN asked the organization not to go forward with its pay-per-view event.

“While the organization was fully prepared to proceed with UFC 249, ESPN has requested the postponement of the event and subsequent bouts until further notice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” announced UFC on Thursday in a brief statement. “UFC looks forward to resuming the full live events schedule as soon as possible.”

ESPN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN … and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event on Saturday,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN in an interview on Thursday.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California had earlier in the day issued a statement calling for the event to be delayed, expressing that she was “concerned” by reports that UFC had intended to hold the fight “in defiance of the state’s shelter-in-place order.”

“This event would involve dozens of individuals flying to California and driving to a casino for a purpose no one can honestly claim is essential,” said Feinstein. “I understand this event is scheduled to take place on tribal land and therefore is not subject to state law. However, at best this event ties up medical resources and sends a message that shelter-in-place orders can be flouted. At worst, participants and support staff could carry the virus back to their home communities and increase its spread.”