The fanless era of the UFC will continue for the time being, as UFC 254 will not have fans in attendance this coming Saturday.
Earlier this week, it was reported that there was a possibility that UFC 254 would have fans in attendance. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) had proposed a plan to bring limited fans into the arena, but ESPN confirmed earlier today that the plans to open the arena to fans and put tickets on sale was not approved in time, thus the card will move forward without fans in attendance.
The UFC has not had any live fans in attendance since UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero. There is currently no set timetable for when the UFC will allow fans again, but Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys is open to Conor McGregor’s proposal to host UFC 257 in AT&T Stadium, so that could be the first grand re-entry to the public for the UFC.
Fans or no fans, UFC 254 is loaded, with arguably the best lightweight fight of all time when Khabib Nurmagomedov defends the lightweight championship against interim champion Justin Gaethje. In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will face Jared Cannonier which is expected to be a title eliminator for the middleweight championship. You can check out the full card below:
UFC 254 MAIN CARD
UFC Lightweight Championship Bout: Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Justin Gaethje
Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
UFC 254 PRELIMINARY CARD
Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa
Jacob Malkoun vs. Phil Hawes
Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Da-un Jung vs. Sam Alvey
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozof
Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
Nathaniel Wood vs. Casey Kenney
Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev
Do you prefer viewing the UFC with the empty arena or with fans in the arena?
