海角大神

UFC President Dana White wanted a major fight card weeks ago. He was confident his team could pull it off whether it took place on a tribal land, on a private island, or in any of the 10 states offering to host it.

Coronavirus testing. Fan-free arena. Social distancing. Self-isolation. Mr. White looked at all those unprecedented details that seemed too complex and too risky to some outsiders as merely extra challenges.

鈥淚 knew we could do this,鈥� he said following UFC 249 on Saturday night. 鈥淚 knew we could figure it out. Even with all the hurdles that we had early on, this has been fun. It鈥檚 been challenging and it鈥檚 been fun.

鈥淚 know that sounds a little demented to say I鈥檝e had fun going through this. It鈥檚 been challenging and I鈥檝e enjoyed the whole game of it, if you will.鈥�

What made this event in Jacksonville's Veterans Memorial Arena by Mr.聽White and the UFC noteworthy was聽that it could serve as a blueprint for other sports leagues around the country and the world as they start to resume during a global pandemic.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR, all of them had to have an eye on how the UFC approached and handled the first major human-centric sporting event in the United States since the new coronavirus shuttered much of the country nearly two months ago. The UFC created a 25-page document to address health and safety protocols, which included disinfecting the octagon between bouts and mandating tests and masks for nearly everyone in attendance.

鈥淚 want to congratulate Dana White and the UFC,鈥� President DonaldTrump said in a video featured at the pay-per-view ESPN event. 鈥�... Get the sports leagues back; let鈥檚 play. You do the social distancing and whatever else you have to do, but we need sports. We want our sports back."

The spotlight on the fight only intensified when one fighter,聽Jacar茅 Souza, and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19聽a day before the stacked card.

Mr.聽Souza was pulled from the fight and removed from the hotel where hundreds of UFC employees are staying this week. The UFC鈥檚 medical team continues to provide assistance and is helping with necessary treatment, Mr.聽White said.

But UFC was criticized for how it handled聽Mr.聽Souza and his cornermen. Zachary Binney,聽an adjunct instructor of epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health聽at Emory University,聽tweeted聽Saturday that White and the UFC 鈥渨ere negligent鈥� in restarting so soon, adding, 鈥淚f this was your system working as designed, your system is bogus.鈥� He went on to question the UFC on social distancing, in part because it allowed Souza to attend the weigh-in after he notified officials he had been exposed, the Washington Post reported.

The UFC has two more fight nights scheduled this week in Jacksonville, beginning Wednesday, and plans to administer more than 1,000 more coronavirus tests for everyone scheduled to take part.

鈥淗owever it was handled this week, this was our first week,鈥� Mr.聽White said. 鈥淚t will only get better. And we can share what we learned here doing three events with other sports leagues who are reaching out to us and asking.

鈥淎 lot can be learned by what we鈥檙e doing here. Not just for professional sports but for sending people back to work and lot of other things in life.鈥�

Mr.聽White said he never considered postponing UFC 249 following Mr.聽Souza鈥檚 positive test and got support from the Florida Athletic Commission, the governor, and local authorities.

The show went on and, by most accounts, got rave reviews.

Justin Gaethje stunned Tony Ferguson in the main event, earning a TKO in a lightweight bout that set the winner up to fight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov next. Henry Cejudo, with blood gushing from his head and dripping down his chest, defended his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz and then announced his retirement.

Heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou pummeled his fourth straight opponent, this one in 20 seconds. Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy won for the sixth time in eight fights. And former welterweight champion and fan favorite Donald 鈥淐owboy鈥� Cerrone lost on the undercard, his fourth consecutive defeat.

About the only negative was the empty arena, where punches, kicks, grunts, steps, trash talk, corner coaching, and TV commentary echoed off metal beams and vacant seats.

鈥淚t was weird,鈥� Mr.聽White conceded. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so many things that you love about live sports, whether you鈥檙e home, in a bar, or there live. One of the big, key components to live sports are the group of people that you鈥檙e with and the energy that you get when cool things happen.

鈥淭onight was an amazing event, but that was definitely missing tonight, these moments. 鈥� It鈥檚 all part of what makes this so great.鈥�

Finding a way to recreate those missing moments could be the next challenge, one Mr.聽White surely would welcome as long as the show goes on.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still figuring this whole thing out,鈥� he said. "This was the first one. It was a success. Wednesday will be better. Saturday will be better than that.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.