Randy Couture: UFC should not be exempt from coronavirus restrictions

While most of the world is still locked down to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, UFC President Dana White has been defiantly attempting to keep his company running throughout the crisis. Former two-division UFC champ Randy Couture isn’t sure how to feel about that.

Couture delved into the topic on an episode of Weighing In with John McCarthy and Josh Thomson.

“I had such mixed feelings,” Couture said of White’s determination to promote UFC 249, which was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic (via MMA Fighting). “You start balancing, how much of this is hype? You start talking about the real numbers, look at the flu that happens every year, or so many other ways that people die. Where does this register on that same scale? We’re making such a huge deal and, literally, tanking our economy on a worldwide level over it.

“At the same time, everybody else is on lockdown,” Couture added. “Why do you think it’s OK to go out and try and put on a show and put athletes in harm’s way, potentially, with so many unknowns? I don’t know. I had mixed feelings about it.”

Since canceling UFC 249, White has continued to lay out plans for UFC fights on a private island. He’s also put together a massive card that is expected to go down at the UFC Apex facility on May 9. Couture doesn’t seem to support these plans. He feels that the UFC should not be exempt from the restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

“Now, we’re still hearing talks about ‘Fighter Island’ and all of this other crazy stuff,” Couture added. “‘Pandemic Island’ is what we should call it.

“I think we’re all in this together, so why should anyone be exempt? The UFC is no different than any of the rest of us.”

What do you think of these comments from Randy Couture?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/15/2020.