Report | UFC forced to postpone May 23 event

The UFC has been forced to postpone its May 23 event, with May 30 being lined up as a potential new date.

The report comes from MMA Junkie who have spoken with several people close to the situation, with the belief being that it just wasn’t possible to get all of the pieces in place in time for May 23.

There are a few different options currently on the table table in regards to where the event will be held, with the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada being one of them.

There’s always the possibility that the UFC could go back to Jacksonville once again, which appears to be the direction that we’re trending in for many of the promotion’s future events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheduled main event for the card was, and supposedly still is, set to see former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley go head to head with rising welterweight challenger Gilbert Burns. A decisive win for either man could put them right in the mix for a shot at Kamaru Usman’s Welterweight Championship later on in the year.

Still, while that fight alone is enough to wet the appetite of the masses, some questions have to be raised when it comes to how much the fighters are being put through just to get themselves to fight night.

There are obviously going to be teething problems for the UFC to sort out in their first few events back, but these guys and girls are having to change their training schedules and travel plans on a pretty frequent basis right now.

UFC president Dana White has made it crystal clear that he isn’t interested in sitting back and waiting for the pandemic to be over, with many other sports now taking his lead in an attempt to get back to normality. 

Stay tuned for more updates on the promotions late May event as more details emerge. 

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/12/2020.