As we enter into the fourth week of lockdown, I think it's safe to say that we all can't wait to see the back of the coronavirus pandemic.UFC president Dana White will certainly agree with this, as he was forced to cancel UFC 249 that was set to take place in California last week. Nevertheless, it appears that a bout between Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson could still be on the cards, as the UFC circus could be taking a trip down to Florida. It's been reported that UFC 249 could be set to take place in the Sunshine State on May 9, with White allegedly quite eager to get this mixed-martial art card underway. Despite there being over 800,000 cases of coronavirus within the nation, White repeatedly denied that hosting such an event would be dangerous and that the event would be observing social distancing. As his Californian show was forced to be cancelled by authorities, it appears that White has turned his attentions to hosting a show in Florida.The state has a slightly-relaxed view on coronavirus guidelines and Florida's governor Ron DeSantis recently allowed WWE shows to take place in the state. DeSantis also went onto allow a range of small businesses to operate in the state, which also includes MMA.
"Employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production’ are allowed to take place but ‘only if the location is closed to the general public," the governor explained.
According to reports, the exact location of UFC 249 will remain under wraps and fighters will be flown into the state and taken to a secret location.
Despite White's apparent efforts for the green light to make a UFC card in Florida happen, the organisation have already pulled the plug on other events in Lincoln on April 25 and Oklahoma on May 2.