Combate Americas has announced the cancellation of several events and a plan to hold upcoming events in a television studio starting April 3 amid coronavirus concerns.
Combate Americas sent out a press release Monday afternoon announcing the cancellation of their upcoming events on March 13 (Tucson), March 20 (Mexico City), and March 27 (San Antonio) amid concerns over the coronavirus. Per a press release, the promotion will reschedule the aforementioned events and will begin holding fights in a closed television studio beginning on April 3.
Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren stated:
“We put the health and safety of our athletes, fans and staff above all other considerations. Combate Americas’ mission is to bring together people throughout the U.S., Mexico, South America and Spain, and that requires frequent travel to an array of locations, both foreign and domestic. Our live studio version of Combate Americas will continue to deliver mucha más acción.”
Fans with tickets to the previously scheduled events are entitled to a full refund, per the release. Notably, the promotion had two title fights scheduled with strawweight champion Melissa “Super Mely” Martinez set to defend her title on March 20 and an interim bantamweight title fight between Andre Barquero and Victor Madrigal on March 27.
As of Monday March 9, major events such as the SXSW event in Texas and the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in California have been cancelled amid coronavirus concern. The NBA also sent out a notice to teams about the possibility of playing games without fans due to concerns as well.
The news marks the first instance of a major MMA promotion in the United States cancelling events and taking action due to the coronavirus. On Friday, UFC President Dana White addressed the concerns at a press conference stating:
“When it comes to safety of the athletes and the fans and everything else, no matter where we go or what we do, we’re always concerned. We’ve been thinking about this for weeks. (UFC) Dr. (Jeffrey) Davidson has been involved. I don’t know what else to say other than that.”
