As a commentator and analyst for both UFC and Bellator, Chael Sonnen is incredibly aware of the impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the sporting world.
But when it came time for Sonnen to put on the promoter hat and decide what to do with his upcoming grappling event, Sunday’s Submission Underground 12, he elected to push forward despite the ever-increasing suggestions and directives from both the national and state governments across the U.S.
Sonnen admits the adjustments he’s made in reply have made the buildup to the card a rather difficult time, but he’s insistent that the event will stream live as scheduled on UFC Fight Pass.
“It’s all a big puzzle, right?” Sonnen asked MMA Junkie. “And there’s so many pieces to this. It’s been so challenging – and not just for us, but everybody can share this, is the rules have changed constantly.
“Like, you do a sport, and you’ve got the sport. You’ve got the athletes. You’ve got star-building. You’ve got all these different things. You’ve got production. At the end of the day though, a big piece of that pie is you’re in the regulation business, because when it’s all said and done, somebody else is telling you what to do. The good news there is it’s generally set forward. You generally have a book on it. You’ve got a manual. You study up on it. You move forward. When things are changing daily, and every day the only thing you know for sure is that something’s going to change that wasn’t true as of yesterday, yeah, it can be done, but it’s still important. It’s still the job. Regulation and compliance is here for a reason.”
Oregon’s ban on public gatherings means Submission Underground 12 will take place behind closed doors without spectators present. Grappling legend Craig Jones meets Rickson Gracie black belt Kevin Casey in the night’s main event, while 21-time UFC veteran Jake Ellenberger faces Oregon’s Ben Egli in the co-main.
But Sonnen said simply banning fans from the building wasn’t enough. He’s also isn’t allowing media, and he’s made a number of other adjustments, as well.
“Because of the way we are in Oregon, we went from 250 people can be in a room, to 50 people can be in a room, to 10 people can be in a room, to eight people can be in a room,” Sonnen said. “So you’ve got your venue. You’ve got a whole line of motorhomes outside so that every single athlete is kept in a different place. We’ll have a referee. We’ll have two gentlemen competing. We will have no announcer. He’ll be in a totally different truck, feeding to a live audience.
“As fas as the broadcast team, that’s going to consist of yours truly, by myself, which I must tell you in the world of calling a show, I’ve never done two hours all by myself, and then you have the doctor. We had to cut down on everybody. We had to bring in extra cameras because we usually have a three-man crew on handhelds. Can’t do that now, so we had to set up extra cameras, and they’re all still shots, so the guy in the truck – I’ll just say, there’s a lot going on.”
Sonnen said the cage used for the event will also be sanitized in between matches.
Whether or not the safety measures taken are enough remains to be seen. The U.S. recently overtook Italy and China as the nation with the most total confirmed cases of COVID-19, and much of the country is under some form of government mandated lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Sonnen made no attempt to minimize the threat of any potential illness but has said repeatedly that he believes the show must go on, and the key is finding the safest way possible to do it.
“It’s always tough to know what advice to give, but ultimately, people do have goals,” Sonnen said. “They’ve got dreams, and they worked really hard, and they want to move forward. It’s one of those conversations. It’s one of those tough conversations rhetorically to come up with the words, but you do have to make a choice. It’s either stop or go. There is no in between, and we chose go, and I don’t apologize for it, and I don’t think any of our competitors should either.”
The burgeoning grappling promotion has five additional cards on the books for 2020, and Sonnen said he believes they’ll be able to deliver the cards to UFC Fight Pass in one fashion or another. Of course, Sonnen admits things can change quickly in our current environment, but he insists he’s committed to the well-being of everyone involved. In a world where just about every sporting event is shut down, Sonnen believes there are alternatives.
“The last thing I would ever want to do is be irresponsible,” Sonnen said. “That would offend me to the highest levels, especially when we’re going to all of the work and effort to make sure that we are more than responsible. But in all fairness, I’m not sure those were the two options – I mean, an absolute, hard stop or an absolute go ahead?
“I think that there’s a lot of responsibilities out there. We don’t necessarily have all of the information, in all fairness, but there’s very good people out there with very good opinions, and they shared them, and I think if you listen to them, and you’re able to move forward, good for you.”
