Nevada Commission Cancels March 25 Meeting Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission has canceled a Wednesday meeting that would have addressed the status of combat sports in the state going forward in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Please be advised that due to the ongoing concern and consideration of the health and safety of the public in regard to the COVID-19 virus, the regular monthly meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission scheduled for Wednesday March 25, 2020 at 9:00 AM has been canceled,” read a statement on the NSAC website. “The Commission will determine at a later date when the next regularly schedule​d meeting will be held.​“

Earlier this month, the NSAC held an emergency meeting in which it elected to suspended all combat sports in Nevada until March 25. Since then the United States government has advocated “social distancing,” and gatherings of 10 people or more have been discouraged, or even banned, throughout the country.

That likely means that any hopes the Ultimate Fighting Championship had of holding any upcoming events at its UFC Apex gym in Las Vegas have been put on hold for now. The promotion had initially planned to relocate UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus, Ohio, on March 28 and UFC Fight Night 172 in Portland, Ore., on April to the UFC Apex on those same dates until the NSAC’s ruling.

The last major MMA event to take place was UFC Fight Night 170, which was held in an empty arena in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 14. More recently, European promotion Cage Warriors staged a closed-doors card in Manchester, England on March 20. The UFC is still exploring alternative venues for UFC 249, which is slated for April 18 and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.