California Cancels All Combat Events Through May

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

RIZIN, PFL and Bellator MMA, have all cancelled their respective events for the upcoming months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), however, plans to keep the ball rolling.

But Dana White and Co. will have to look for a new location for its scheduled UFC Fight Night 175 event scheduled for May 15, 2020 in San Diego, CA. That’s because the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has cancelled all combat events running through the month of may.

“The Commission didn’t take this decision lightly and understands the potential economic loss to promoters and the industry of combative sports,” the CSAC statement said via ESPN. “We had to weigh the best interest of our fighters and the community around us.”

UFC did postpone UFC Fight Night 171, UFC on ESPN 8 as well as UFC Fight Night 172, but Dana White recently stated that business will be back to normal, starting with UFC 29, which is st to go down on April 18.

Of course, the promotion has yet to lock down a venue — or at least they haven’t revealed it yet — for the pay-per-view (PPV) event, which may need of a new main event. That’s because Khabib Nurmagomedov as unable to leave Russia to face Tony Ferguson due to lock down rules…for now.

UFC Fight Night 175 is currently set to be headlined by a lightweight bout between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker. Poirier recently threw his name in the hat to replace Khabib against Ferguson, but revealed he was told by UFC to keep training for Hooker.

Where the bout gets moved — if it does indeed take place — remains to be seen