New U.S. vaccination travel policies could spell trouble for Russian UFC fighters

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

The new COVID-19 vaccination travel policy imposed by the United States government may spell trouble for UFC fighters based in Russia.

The White House issued an order last week requiring all travellers to provide proof of full vaccination in order to enter the U.S. starting Nov. 8, 2021. Travellers must be inoculated with one of the seven COVID-19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, a recent delay in approving Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine means that Russian UFC fighters might not be able to enter the U.S. even if they have been vaccinated.

Despite being the first registered COVID-19 vaccine and its approved usage in dozens of countries, Sputnik V continues to struggle to gain full approval from the WHO. In July 2021, the WHO revealed that it found some issues with the filling of Sputnik V vials at one plant in Russia, which added to the delay. The manufacturer has since claimed to have addressed all of the WHO’s concerns, and that WHO inspectors are due to visit Russia shortly “to round up all necessary inspections and paperwork on Sputnik V.”

Currently, no vaccine other than Sputnik is publicly available in Russia.

With limited options to enter the U.S., Russian fighters will likely compete is countries with less restrictive regulations. According to UFC President Dana White, that place will likely be ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi.

“I think ‘Fight Island’ is going to be hopping again,” White told reporters when asked about the new regulations. “Yeah, we’re looking to do more events [there]. I’m going to Abu Dhabi [within a week], so I have a lot of meetings out there.”

It is worth noting that UFC 267, which is scheduled to take place Oct. 30 at the Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi, will feature nine fighters from the Russian Federation, including Chechen fighters Khamzat Chimaev, Albert Duraev and Zubaira Tukhugov, as well as Dagestan’s Magomed Mustafaev and Tagir Ulanbekov.

However, beyond UFC 267, the organization does not have any other international events planned for the foreseeable future.

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.