UFC president Dana White says the company is continuing to move forward with its plans to hold events over the next few weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.
While most sports around the world have come to a halt, the UFC is determined to keep going. On Sunday (NZ time) they staged a behind closed doors events in Brasília, Brazil.
The UFC had plans to stage fights inside its own Apex facility in Las Vegas, but that is no longer feasible, after the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Saturday suspended all combat sports licences in the state until March 26 at the earliest.
This weekend's UFC Fight Night event in London has been relocated to the US, after President Donald Trump expanded restrictions on travel from Europe to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The UFC has reached out to managers and reps seeking fighters who are willing to step into the Octagon on short notice.
"Obviously, things are changing by the hour," White said on ESPN. "This morning, they announced new travel restrictions for the UK, so [the March 21 event] can't continue in London.
"But the fight will go on. We're working on finding a new venue, likely in the United States, and I have my matchmakers literally working right now to put together the undercard.
"As of now, fights can't happen at the Apex here in Las Vegas. So, we're working to find new locations, but the fights will go on; they will continue. We're not stopping."
The biggest event coming up on the UFC schedule is the blockbuster lightweight title fight between Russian, Khabib Nurmagomedov and American, Tony Ferguson, in Brooklyn.
The bout has already been booked four different times and rescheduled due to injuries and fans are worried that it could get cancelled again.
White reassured his fan base that the fight will go on as planned - somewhere.
"So, we had possibly a couple of different venues for that fight, including Nevada," White said. "So, now the whole Nevada thing went down, so we're looking for another venue. I hope by [Sunday morning], I should have two venue options for that fight.
"That fight will happen. It will go on. The fans are all freaking out about that, do not worry. Khabib versus Tony will happen."
