COUNTERPUNCH

UFC Plans to Get Around COVID-19 Restrictions by Holding Match on Tribal Land

Organizers will hold mixed martial arts pay-per-view event with Tony Ferguson on tribal land in central California to skirt state coronavirus restrictions.

The organizers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship say they plan to hold their pay-per-view event featuring Tony Ferguson on tribal land in California on April 18 to get around state laws restricting public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. Dana White, the group’s president, says he can safely host a mixed martial arts event without fear of contagion, according to The New York Times. The event will reportedly be held at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Lemoore, outside Fresno. “This place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights out,” White told ESPN on Monday without confirming the location. The casino named by the Times has been closed since March 20 despite being on land belonging to the Tachi-Yokut Tribe of the Santa Rosa Indian Community, which does not have to follow federal regulations for the pandemic.