The Ultimate Fighting Championship is reportedly holding its upcoming mixed martial arts festivities behind closed doors.
The promotion is scheduled to visit Brazil this weekend for the UFC on ESPN+ 28 event, which will go down at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia.
A lightweight fight between Kevin Lee and Charles Oliveira will headline the fight card that will also feature Brazilian fighters such as Johnny Walker, Demian Maia, and Renato Moicano.
According to a recent report from Brazilian outlet, Combate, the MMA event will go ahead but with no fans inside the arena amid the soaring coronavirus scare.
Recently, the World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus a pandemic, affecting at least 114 countries around the world.
The city governor in Brasilia, Ibaneis Rocha, has banned all large gatherings including sporting events as a response to the outbreak.
The Nevada-based promotion has also decided to cancel the media scrum on Thursday while the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday will not be available for the fans.
Aside from UFC Brasilia, the UFC Columbus and UFC 249 fight card could also be in jeopardy as the sports world suffers a major fallout due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The governor of Ohio is planning to ban all sporting events in the state after the National Basketball Association decided to suspend its current season, with some basketball players from Utah Jazz testing positive for COVID-19.
“Source today told me UFC was looking to NBA and NHL as potential bellwethers on how to respond to coronavirus. We’ve seen the NBA’s response. NHL has yet to follow. But I wouldn’t be surprised if upcoming events are moved to the UFC Apex in Vegas with no live crowd,” Ben Fowlkes reported.
Here is the complete line up for the UFC on ESPN+ 28 (via MMA Mania):
Main Event
155 lbs.: Kevin Lee vs. Charles Oliveira
UFC Fight Night 170 Main Card on ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Demian Maia vs. Gilbert Burns
115 lbs.: Amanda Ribas vs. Randa Markos
155 lbs.: Renato Moicano vs. Damir Hadzovic
205 lbs.: Johnny Walker vs. Nikita Krylov
125 lbs.: Bruno Silva vs. David Dvorak
UFC Fight Night 170 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (5 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Francisco Trinaldo vs. John Makdessi
170 lbs.: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Aleksei Kunchenko
135 lbs.: Enrique Barzola vs. Rani Yahya
125 lbs.: Jussier Formiga vs. Brandon Moreno
125 lbs.: Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Maryna Moroz
135 lbs.: Veronica Macedo vs. Bea Malecki
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ UFC and Kevin Lee)