UFC 260 could be on the move as Texas rolls back restrictions
Much of the country scoffed this week when Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his state would reopen with no restrictions. UFC president Dana White immediately picked up the phone.
White, who was been running shows on the UFC’s campus in Las Vegas with no spectators, has long said he wouldn’t return to arena events until fan capacity could be at 100 percent and now that window appears to be open.
His first attempt was quickly dismissed.
“Dallas said, ‘No,’” White said Thursday. “I’m working on Houston. We’ll see if we can get Houston done. I want to go to Texas ASAP. I’ll go in the next two, three weeks. I’m ready to roll. We’ll be first. We’ll open this thing up. We’ll sell it out and be on our way.”
Such an ambitious timeline could put the UFC in line to move UFC 260, a March 27 pay-per-view event featuring two title bouts, to the Lone Star state. That event is headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between Las Vegan Francis Ngannou and champion Stipe Miocic.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m ready to go,” White said when asked specifically if that event could take place in Texas. “I’d move this (this Saturday’s UFC 259 event) if we could. I told everybody when this opened up that I would be first and we would go first – and we will.”
Fans are currently allowed at sporting events in Nevada at very limited capacity, provided organizers submit a viable plan to state officials.
The Golden Knights are welcoming 2,600 fans at home games. White and the UFC have not applied to allow fans into the Apex.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.