A week ago, it was revealed that Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism was considering the possibility of having fans in attendance at UFC 254. According to DCT marketing director Saeed Rashed Al Saeed, they were looking into a strategy on how to segregate fans from the bubble provided for the fighters, event staff, and employees.
If everything goes to plan, we’ll be announcing this soon. It’s not confirmed yet but the plan is in place but it needs to be endorsed. I’m optimistic, but health and safety cannot be compromised. That is our priority. It will not happen unless it is fool proof.
Despite the optimism, the odds of it happening were still stacked against Abu Dhabi officials. It was all confirmed to be a no-go on Sunday in a tweet from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Update on UFC 254: No fans, unfortunately. A plan that would have allowed additional fans in the building and put tickets on sale was not approved in time. There will be a small handful of invitees, but atmosphere will essentially be the same as every other event, I’m told.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 18, 2020
UFC 254 will be the sixth crowdless PPV event for the UFC, and the biggest one to date. It takes place on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
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