Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has tried so hard to bring MMA back to Las Vegas that it’s a shame he won’t be watching UFC on ESPN 9 later this evening (Sat., May 30, 2020) from his usual cageside seat.
As UFC returns home the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has asked for more stringent testing for COVID-19 to avoid potential spread. The new protocol calls for all UFC fighters, corners, and staff to wear masks at all times during fight week. It appears White is unwilling to carry out those extra safety measures, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since he has already dared coronavirus to infect him.
During a media scrum on Friday (see it HERE), which White was not wearing a mask for, the UFC president revealed that he is likely to watch the fights this weekend from the comfort of his APEX office.
This has been a point of contention all week, I’m told. White said he’ll watch the fights in his private room if he has to tomorrow. Nevada wants everyone in attendance to be wearing a mask. Sean Shelby did the faceoffs today while wearing a mask. https://t.co/ZRNZLHmyTL
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 29, 2020
In case you haven’t seen White’s office at the UFC’s new APEX facility it can be seen below:
This is @DanaWhite’s office at @UFC Apex pic.twitter.com/2dwRHarjod
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) June 17, 2019
Despite White’s refusal to wear a mask like the rest of his staff putting this show together this weekend in Vegas at least he’s still getting tested for coronavirus. That is a non-negotiable aspect of UFC’s COVID-19 protocol and White has been tested as much as anyone. The UFC frontman even posted the following video showing a new throat swab test being implemented this week:
COVID19 test number 5 for @TWooodley vs @GilbertDurinho TOMORROW LIVE and FREE on @espn pic.twitter.com/zX7T3TyX8C
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 30, 2020
UFC on ESPN 9 will air live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX facility in Sin City, marking the first event back to Vegas for the promotion since returning from COVID-19 suspension. The event will be headlined by a welterweight matchup between former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and rising contender Gilbert Burns.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 9 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 9 p.m. ET.
For more UFC on ESPN 9 fight card news click here.