Report: UFC 249 broke multiple coronavirus safety protocols
After last Saturday's successful UFC 249 show at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., UFC boss Dana White told TMZ Sports that other leagues and states had reached out to him about how to produce and broadcast live sports content during the coronavirus pandemic.
Turns out, White's UFC may not yet be the best role model for the sports world.
On Tuesday, Kevin Draper of the New York Times reported that the UFC violated several of its written safety protocols during the show. For example, commentator Joe Rogan was supposed to practice social distancing and not conduct face-to-face post-fight interviews, something he ignored throughout the evening:
Per Draper, White also failed to follow guidelines regarding the wearing of gloves and masks. He wore neither while presenting Justin Gaethje with the interim lightweight championship soon after the main event.
UFC has not been immune to the pandemic. Most recently, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza was pulled from the UFC 249 card after he and two of his cornermen tested positive for the coronavirus. As of May 13, it's not yet known if anybody else involved with the event tested positive following Saturday evening.
Despite ongoing concerns related to COVID-19, UFC remains committed to completing two additional shows at the same Jacksonville venue this week. On Wednesday evening, Anthony Smith will battle Glover Teixeira in the main event of a "Fight Night" card.
A heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris is scheduled to headline the May 16 show.
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