Skirting the limits of what is legal during a coronavirus lockdown in California, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is planning to hold a pay-per-view event at Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Lemoore in the central part of the state, the New York Times reported last week.
Most sporting events have halted all around the country. California has one of the most stringent lock-downs in the fifty states, but Indian tribes are considered sovereign, and federal guidelines are just that, guidelines. The fights would also not need to be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission, which has cancelled all its events through the end of May.
UFC President Dana White speaking on ESPN declined to say where the fight would be. “This place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights out.” The Times wrote that it spoke to sources who wanted to be anonymous.
Tachi Palace, like all other casinos in the Golden State, closed March 20. It is operated by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, which is part of the Santa Rosa Indian Community, which declined to comment on whether the UFC event would be at that location.
The UFC had scheduled three events in March and April that it postponed as casinos began to close.
The Association of Ringside Physicians has urged that no UFC events happen during the pandemic because officials, fighters and anyone connected to the event would risk infection from the virus.
California State Athletic Commission indicated its displeasure: “The commission echoes the guidance of California Governor Gavin Newsom, the Department of Public Health, local health officials, and the recommendations of the Association of Ringside Physicians regarding the cancellation of events where people may be at risk of contracting Covid-19 and encourages the industry to do the same.” the California athletic commission said in a statement. “The commission will not participate in the U.F.C. event on April 18, regardless of the event location.”
