UFC President Dana White originally had April 18th booked for an event at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort on tribal land in California.

That plan was scrapped after ESPN pulled rank and told him to stand down. Senator Dianne Feinstein also was not a fan of the idea and complained via written letter.

So he we are about a week after the scrapped fight, with White explaining that UFC is now focused on Jacksonville Florida for a trio of events next month:

Florida, as you’re probably aware, has been a little more “loose” with COVID-19 restrictions. Governor Ron DeSantis came out last Tuesday and defended the state’s decision to categorize sporting events as essential services, saying this via The Hill:


Speaking on Tuesday, DeSantis emphasized that televised sporting events closed to the public could be a “good thing” from a “psychological perspective.” He suggested that a NASCAR race without a large crowd could be a possibility. He also endorsed a proposal for a one-on-one golf challenge between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

“You wouldn’t have the crowds,” DeSantis said. “Put that on TV. People are starved for content. We haven’t had a lot of new content since the beginning of March.”

Worth keeping an eye on Florida to see what happens. They’ve been at the forefront of trying to get sporting events back on the calendar, and as of right now UFC 249 has a date and location. We’ll see if it holds.