By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Big-time sports are back in Nevada later this month and UFC President Dana White is leading the way.
White confirmed to LVSportsBiz.com early Wednesday morning that the promotion’s next fight card is scheduled for UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas May 30. He’s looking at a welterweight headline fight of Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns.
The fight night event would be Nevada’s first major professional sports event since the coronavirus pandemic prompted sports industry officials to shut down big league sports in the U.S. March 12. But White didn’t shut down UFC.
Explaining that he’s in the business of putting on fights, White forged ahead amid the COVID-19 health crisis by staging UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena May 9. There were no fans in the venue and one UFC fighter before the event tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 90,000 Americans. White went on to stage fight nights May 13 and May 16 at the same arena in Jacksonville and received praise from President Donald Trump in a video May 9 for kick-starting major pro sports in the country.
But when would UFC be able to stage a fight event in its home city of Las Vegas? LVSportsBiz.com asked White via text when is UFC’s next fight event?
White responded early today, “The 30th at the Apex.”
In a one-on-one interview with LVSportsBiz.com last week, White said staging the next fight event at the APEX is the ideal place to hold a fight night because it’s practically next-door to the promotion’s headquarters and resources in Las Vegas. LVSportsBiz.com reported on White’s tour of the APEX nearly a year ago. White’s Contender Series show was staged at the APEX.
The APEX is an impressive building that UFC had rebuilt into a 120,000-square-foot venue housing a small arena and production studio off the 215 beltway in the southwest Las Vegas valley. Here was the LVSportsBiz.com interview with White eight days ago when the UFC president said he wanted the next fight event to be held at the APEX.
LVSportsBiz.com emailed Gov. Steve Sisolak and the Nevada Athletic Commission for comments about White’s May 30 event at the UFC APEX, but did not receive a response.
Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter and Instagram. Like LVSportsBiz.com on Facebook.