Don’t Pop My Bubble
By Eddie Sanchez
There has been a lot of positive media noise leading up to the restart of the NBA regular season. It is clear that the bubble is working so far and the restart should have little to no hiccups, assuming the players are responsible enough to stay at Walt Disney World Orlando Florida.
This news is great for everyone within the sports industry, especially when considering the MLB has already found a team with a flurry of players and team personnel testing positive for COVID-19.
It is clear that the bubble is the true method for success in the current world we live in and while the NBA has one of the largest media platforms in North America, we must not forget that the true precedent was started by the UFC.
There was a point in time where the world seemingly stopped. Millions of people were put on furlough, sports and entertainment was cancelled and food and beverage establishments were closed.
Leading into May 2020 however, Dana White and team represented that the UFC is world-class personified. Their organization put together an amazing UFC 249 PPV that laid the groundwork for sports leagues around the world to follow.
Let’s not forget that the media was heavily against the UFC returning to the octagon. Dana White assured the public that he was working closely with the American Government and the CDC and that they put in place measures that would ensure successful events going forward.
Fast-forward to present time and the UFC has produced two-and-a-half months worth of content for the world to enjoy. During this time the UFC took over the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, the APEX in Las Vegas and now FIght Island in Abu Dhabi.
When the NBA was implementing their Orlando bubble plans, the UFC had already produced an established precedent to follow. There were numerous PPVs and Fight Nights that didn’t just fill the sports-fan need for live content, but went above and beyond to create highlight reel action designed to create new UFC fans and maintain the satisfaction of their loyal fanbase.
This is not to say that the learning has stopped for the NBA and other professional leagues around the world. The UFC has clearly recognized the importance of their bubble. This has been established by the UFC’s COO, Lawrence Epstein’s comments:
“Once we got onto Fight Island, we were in a true bubble, I believe it’s the only bubble, the only true bubble, that’s been created to date. You couldn’t leave. If you did leave, you weren’t allowed to come back in. All of the staff that was working at the hotels, the restaurants and at the events, they had already quarantined on the island for up to a month and were being rigorously tested during the period of time they were on the island. I think it had a lot to do with those factors that we didn’t have any positive tests once people got to Abu Dhabi.”
The UFC is not content with their successes, they are implementing new protocols to follow to ensure that their nine August Las Vegas events run as smoothly as possible.
The new protocols include:
Expanded testing, requiring all fighters and their corners traveling to Las Vegas to produce a negative test result before they travel.
Upon arrival at the host hotels, fighters, corners, officials, media and others will be immediately tested in a tent outside of the hotel instead of going into the hotel for the test. Then, they will be quarantined in a room until they produce a negative result. If they are positive, they will be sent to another hotel to quarantine. Las Vegas residents who test positive will be sent home to quarantine.
After receiving a negative test, fighters and their corners will be given an individual check-in time in an attempt to limit congestion in the area. Previously, fighters and their teams would stand in line waiting to be checked in by the UFC.
Host hotels will now be cleaned hourly, as opposed to three times daily previously. The UFC has acquired additional electrostatic disinfectant sprayers and has hired a professional cleaning crew to use them as opposed to having its own staff do that job. There will be no members of the public in any of the host hotels, only those involved in the UFC events.
The UFC will recommend face shields, in addition to masks and gloves, for certain personnel.
These protocols will almost surely produce the safest results possible for the UFC and other leagues such as the NFL and MLB will likely adopt as many measures as possible to complete their scheduled seasons.
It is interesting to look at the UFC and the NBA, the two most successful post-COVID leagues at the moment. The NBA in their own right have shown that they are taking the steps in the right direction similar to the UFC.
Now it is time to see if the rest of the North American leagues can follow the UFC’s blueprint. Because while the MLB is stressing over the Marlins COVID-crisis, the UFC and their fans are eagerly waiting for highly anticipated matchups such as Miocic-Cormier, Adesanya-Costa and Khabib-Gaethje.
