Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“Local authorities have been advised by Government that event promoters should be informed that events requiring licences in excess of 5,000 will not be considered for the period up to the end of August”.
The UFC was set to return to Dublin, Ireland later this year at 3Arena on August 15 but the Irish government has declared a ban on all mass gatherings of over 5,000 people until mid-September due to the coronavirus pandemic, per a recent report by Reuters.
The government statement reads as follows.
“Local authorities have been advised by government that event promoters should be informed that events requiring licences in excess of 5,000 will not be considered for the period up to the end of August.”
The UFC has yet to announce any bouts for UFC Dublin but it was rumored that Darren Till would headline the event opposite former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
The UFC has yet to comment on the issue but it’s thought that the premiere fight promotion will postpone the event until September or host the card behind closed doors. The UFC last came to Dublin for a sold out event in 2015, which saw Louis Smolka submit hometown favorite Paddy Holohan in the UFC Fight Night 76 main event.
Bloody Elbow will keep you updated as this story develops.