The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on Saturday voted to suspend all combat sports events in the state until March 25.
The emergency meeting was called in order to address the coronavirus outbreak that has affected many sports worldwide.
The next NSAC meeting is scheduled for March 25, and that is when commissioners will vote on the status of events after that date. NSAC executive director Bob Bennett was assigned the role of providing recommendations to the commission on how to move forward at the next meeting.
“I’ve been in constant contact with a litany of doctors and medical professionals and am intimately familiar with all professional and amateur sports events being suspended at this point in time for an undetermined period,” Bennett told ESPN. “I will continue to collect information and speak with various medical experts and be prepared to provide the information to the chairman and commissioners on March 25.”
A popular amateur MMA event, Tuff-N-Uff, was canceled Saturday night in Las Vegas as a result of this vote. There are no major pro combat sport events affected at the moment, although two cards are currently scheduled just three days after the March 25 NSAC meeting.
On Thursday, UFC president Dana White announced that the promotion will be moving events scheduled for March 28 and April 11 to UFC headquarters in Las Vegas. A Showtime boxing card headlined by Luis Nery and Aaron Alameda is also scheduled for March 28 at Park MGM in Las Vegas.
It is unclear what measures those promotions will take given the short notice. The UFC typically flies in fighters on Tuesday prior to a Saturday bout. If that holds for the March 28 card, then fighters will already be in Las Vegas prepared to fight one day before the NSAC makes its decision on whether or not they will compete.
A request for comment from the UFC was not immediately returned Saturday.
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), another one of the big combat sports regulatory bodies in the United States, suspended all events through March 31 on Thursday. The NBA, NHL, NCAA, MLS and others have suspended games and tournaments due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Major League Baseball (MLB) has delayed the start of its season.