The Nevada Athletic Commission Wednesday approved the return of combat sports to the state, beginning Saturday with a UFC card at its Las Vegas Apex site.
In the aftermath of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s announcement Tuesday night that the state was ready to move on to Phase 2 of its reopening, the NAC signed off on four events, two for mixed martial arts and two for boxing.
In addition to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card, the commission also approved UFC 250, which will be held June 6 at Apex. Top Rank, which submitted requests to hold boxing events June 9 and 11 at the MGM Grand, were also approved.
Spectators will not be allowed at any of the approved events and both companies submitted plans that called for regular testing for all participants as well as isolating them from the general public in the runup to their respective events.
UFC held three events recently in Jacksonville, Fla. and had one fighter and two of his cornermen test positive for the coronavirus. The fight involving the combatant who tested positive was canceled and the remaining fights went on without incident. There were no post-fight positive tests recorded.
ESPN and ESPN+ plan to televise both UFC cards as well as the two Top Rank boxing events.