UFC 252 set for Las Vegas; fanless events to continue

UFC 252 will be Aug. 15 at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White confirmed late Saturday.

The pay-per-view card will be headlined by the culmination of a heavyweight title fight trilogy between champion Stipe Miocic and former champ Daniel Cormier.

There had been some speculation the UFC had yet to announce a venue because the organization was exploring the possibility of finding a jurisdiction where they could allow fans in the building.

White said that wasn’t the case.

“I am not even thinking about doing an event with fans,” he said after Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN 11 event at the Apex. “I just don’t see that happening any time soon in the United States. I could see it happening in another country. Not here, though.”

White said confusing reports and conflicting data make it difficult to predict how the course of the pandemic will affect when spectators will be allowed back into arenas.

“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” he said. “I’ve got my (expletive) dialed in. I’ve got it worked out. I’m hearing they’re shutting down casinos in Arizona. The governor here came out and said we’re all going to have to start wearing masks like California. I don’t know.

“You can’t believe anything you read. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not. You hear flatten the curve, and it had flattened. Now they’re saying things are spiking up in Texas or Arizona or Florida or wherever. I don’t know the answers to this stuff. That’s why I stay in my lane now. We’ve got the Apex. We’re kicking off Fight Island soon.”

The UFC will host its final event in a run of five straight at the Apex on Saturday before spending July at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Three cards were announced for an undisclosed location for Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15, which would be UFC 252.

White confirmed all three will be in Las Vegas, which is likely to remain the home for U.S.-based shows for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve got the summer done.” he said. “The summer looks good, I’m telling you. We’re going to have some fun in August.”

UFC 252 also is expected to include a bout between heavyweight sluggers Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.