Dana White responds to rumors of Nevada combat sports shutdown

UFC President Dana White has responded to rumors that Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak is considering shutting down combat sports events in the state amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Nevada is currently enduring a spike of COVID-19 cases, and amid widespread fears of overflowing hospitals and overworked medical staff, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that Governor Sisolak is considering implementing new restrictions—restrictions that could affect the operations of the UFC and Top Rank Boxing in the state.

At the conclusion of last weekend’s UFC 255 card in Las Vegas, Yahoo Sports reporter Kevin Iole asked Dana White about this possibility.

White bristled at the idea immediately, assuring he hasn’t heard anything to that end.

“There’s been a rumor going around that Governor Sisolak might end what you’re doing, what Top Rank is doing,” Iole asked White (via MMA Mania). “Is there a chance that the Governor won’t let you continue to do this now that the Coronavirus is getting worse? There was a rumor around that potentially he was going to put an order out saying that he wasn’t going to allow Top Rank or you to keep doing these shows.”

“I never heard anything remotely close to that,” White replied. “Look at what we’ve done. That would be madness. I haven’t heard anything even remotely close to that.”

While White was forced to cancel a handful of UFC events in the earlier chapters of the coronavirus pandemic, he has since promoted a long list of events despite the current climate. Several of those events have occurred on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, but the vast majority have emanated from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. While numerous fighters have tested positive for COVID-19 this year, the promotion has managed to avoid a serious outbreak thus far.

Do you think Dana White and the UFC could be forced to shut down their Las Vegas operations in the near future?