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UFC President Dana White announced on Thursday in a video interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto that he was asked to stand down by the highest levels at ESPN and their parent company, Disney.
According to a report by The New York Times, California state officials got in touch with Disney and expressed concerns about hosting such an event amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately led to the indefinite postponement of all UFC pay-per-views.
California Governor made a call to Disney
Dana White had tried to find a way around Newsom's stay-at-home orders and a statewide ban on gatherings and sporting events by choosing a venue in the tribal lands of California.
UFC 249 and subsequent events were slated to take place at Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Lemoore, 40 miles south of Fresno. The property is owned by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe of the federally recognized Santa Rosa Indian Community, and therefore out of the jurisdiction of Calif. government.
But Newsom did not take this lightly and decided to step in.
As per the report by Times, Disney officials received a direct call from the Governor's office, according to sources close to the matter. Owing to the good relationship UFC has with their broadcasting partner, White readily complied with the request. But he also made it clear in the ESPN interview that he would have done it if he was allowed to.
"ESPN has been very, very good to us, and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event next Saturday... I don’t crack to that stuff. But it doesn’t mean that other people won’t crack to it. I don’t. I could still go Saturday. I could go do this event. I’m sure ESPN would let me do it on Fight Pass. But ESPN doesn’t want me to do it. They’re my partners, they’ve been nothing but amazing to me."
Major statements regarding the matter
The request to White came soon after California Senator Dianne Feinstein condemned UFC's attempts to host the event amidst the crisis in a statement.
"At best this event ties up medical resources and sends a message that shelter-in-place orders can be flouted. At worst, participants and support staff could carry the virus back to their home communities and increase its spread."
While Disney or the Governor's office has not made any comments about the matter, ESPN sent out a short statement to the major media sites.
"ESPN has been in constant contact with the U.F.C. regarding U.F.C. 249. Nobody wants to see sports return more than we do, but we didn’t feel this was the right time for a variety of reasons. ESPN expressed its concerns to the U.F.C. and they understood."
However, this is a decision based on the current situation and it in no way affects the ongoing relationship that ESPN shares with UFC, said the president of Endeavor, Mark Shapiro. Endeavor led the group in 2016 that purchased the promotion.
"The UFC's contractual relationship with ESPN has absolutely nothing to do with this decision. ESPN has been clear about that."
