On Thursday night, UFC president Dana White addressed the promotion’s plans for several upcoming fights cards including this weekend’s show in Brasilia.
This Saturday’s card from Nilson Nelson Gymnasium will go ahead but without access to the public or members of the media.
The card is now scheduled for a 3 pm Eastern start time with all the fights running on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+. The card is headlined by a lightweight fight between Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira.
Next Saturday, the UFC is set for a card at the O2 Arena in London, England with White stating that the event will move forward as is with fans able to attend.
“That event will proceed as planned, we are working closely with the Government if there are any changes over there but as of now, that event is moving forward.”
The March 28th event that was scheduled for Columbus, Ohio and the April 11th event for Portland, Oregon have both been moved to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
White added he had conversations with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday regarding the crisis:
“We always go overboard with health and safety. I spoke with the President and Vice-President of the United States today and they are taking this very seriously. And, they are saying ‘be safe, be cautious’, but live your life and stop panicking. Everyone is panicking and instead of panicking, we are actually getting out there and working with doctors and health officials and the government to figure out how we keep the sport safe and how we continue to put on events.”
In the interview with ESPN, White did not address the status of UFC 249 that is scheduled for April 18th in Brooklyn, New York headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Earlier in the day, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a ban within the state of public gatherings that exceed 500 or more people for the foreseeable future.
