MMA Fighting - MMA News Update | March 19, 2020

Episode Date: March 20, 2020

Our own Esther Linn is here to bring you up-to-date on all things involving the MMA world's reaction to COVID-19, the status of UFC 249, CW 113, Brave CF 35 & BKFC 12 as well as the UFC's recent fight announcements. Follow Esther Linn: @allelbows Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. It's evening on Thursday, March 19th, 2020, and here are some updates about MMA and how the novel coronavirus is affecting events around the world. UFC President Dana White insists that UFC 249 is still happening. Quote, Habib and Tony is going to happen. White told TSN in Canada. We're going to figure that out.

We're going to make it happen. And then it's just going to be a matter of how quickly we can get back to being normal. White said later in that interview, listen, if you're a fan, a media member, whatever you might be, do you want to bet against me? You want to bet that I can't pull stuff off? Another MMA promotion still trying to keep the wheels turning, Cage Warriors had weigh-ins today for its event that was moved from London to Manchester.

All 22 fighters scheduled for Friday's Cage Warriors 113 card successfully made weight under some unique circumstances. Extra precautions were taken for the weigh-ins. to minimize contact and exposure, including the fighters being weighed in in three separate groups and only one team member being allowed to be present during weigh-ins. The promotion also stated that, quote, all athletes were checked for symptoms of COVID-19 by an on-site medic at the weigh-ins. Also, staff and crew members are expected to be checked for COVID-19 symptoms when entering

the arena on Friday and fighters will be tested a second time before competing. It should be noted that the carriers of the coronavirus can be asymptomatic, even after days of being exposed to the virus, and that a lack of symptoms does not mean the afflicted is not contagious. In a rare case of cross-promotion, Cage Warriors 113 will be headlined by UFC middleweight Darren Stewart and Bartosh Fabinski, about that was originally scheduled for UFC London on Saturday before that event was indefinitely postponed. Mason Jones fights Joe McCulligan for Cage Warriors' lightweight title and Patty the Badi Pimblet faces Decky Dalton. The fight will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass at 5 p.m. Eastern. Also on Saturday, Combat Night 18 will still go down in Jacksonville, Florida. There will be no crowd in attendance, but the Florida State Boxing Commission has allowed the event to move forward as scheduled. Brazilian MMA promotions shoot of Brazil and jungle fight decided to postpone their upcoming events in Manaus and Rio de Janeiro as coronavirus cases escalate to more than 530th country.

Brave CF's upcoming card was scheduled for March 28th, also in Brazil, and was scheduled to feature the start of the company's flyweight tournament. However, that event has also been postponed. MMA fighting reached out to Brave CF officials asking if fighters were to be fully paid or a percentage of it, since the event won't happen under unavoidable circumstances, but the promotion won't compensate them because, quote, the event hasn't been canceled, it was postponed. Brave CF has yet to confirm a new date for their upcoming events originally booked for Brazil, Sweden, and Romania. We had previously reported Bareknuckle FC11 being postponed this weekend in Kansas, but now their

April 12th event in Alabama is also being. being indefinitely postponed. Despite all this, the UFC continues to book fights with Klitsynabreou versus Gadsimurad Antigilov set for UFC Kazakhstan scheduled for June 23rd. Also, rebooking fights as Christos out with an injury is replaced by Frank Camacho against Alon Patrick in Lincoln, Nebraska on April 25th. How are the fighters coping without their gyms? The happy warrior Roxanne Moldoferi keeps her spirits up while syndicate is closed by practicing social distance jujitsu with her teammate Valerie Wong. Keep it at MMAfighting.com for updates, interviews, and more from the world of mixed martial arts.