Last week, speculation surfaced that the UFC could be up-and-running on May 9, with the Interim Lightweight Championship fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer for the Women's Featherweight title, and Henry Cejudo battling Dominick Cruz for the Bantamweight title rumored for the show.
While the UFC President doesn’t exactly confirm the news regarding the promotion making its return on May 9, Dana White has stated that the UFC APEX, which held fights on Dana White’s Contender Series, will be the home of live events for the foreseeable future:
“We built the APEX facility next door just in time to save the day from this pandemic,” White said. “Live fights will be produced out of there starting next month and for the foreseeable future.”
The news of Dana White resuming business shouldn’t be a surprise as the 50-year-old has been adamant about holding events despite the heavy criticism he’s received. White was eventually forced to cancel the UFC 249 pay-per-view; however, he’s made it clear that the UFC will be the first sport back and is actually in the midst of building a fight island.
Of course, Nevada is currently under a stay-at-home order for non-essential businesses until April 30. While the option of going to Florida is always there since the state has deemed “employees at a professional sports and media production” as essential businesses, Variety reports that the company is expecting the lockdown in Las Vegas to be eased within the coming month.