MMA News: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, UFC Plans To Have Full Crowd For Upcoming PPV Event

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC has announced that the promotion will be having a full crowd for their upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event, which will take place at the 15,000-seater VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on April 24.

“I have been waiting a year, for this day, to tell you that we are back,” UFC President Dana White said. "UFC 261, which will be on April 24th, will be in Jacksonville, Florida, with a full house of fans, full capacity.”

With the fans back in attendance for the first time in over a year, the UFC has a stacked card lined up, featuring three world championship bouts.

Headlining the card will be a highly-anticipated UFC welterweight championship rematch between reigning champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Jorge Masvidal.

The two first met at UFC 251 back in July 2020, with Usman retaining his title.

Also on the card, the women’s UFC flyweight title will be on the line as champion Valentina Shevchenko defends her title against ex-strawweight queen Jessica Andrade.

Plus, the UFC strawweight belt will also be up for grabs as champion Zhang Weili faces former titleholder Rose Namajunas.

The announcement, fittingly enough, comes exactly a year after the UFC was forced to hold its first event behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UFC Fight Night 170, which was headlined by a lightweight matchup between Charles Oliveira and Kevin Lee, took place on March 15, 2020, in Brazil.

Just three days before the event, the UFC had announced that the event would be going on as scheduled, but fans would not be allowed to enter the arena due to the pandemic.

Throughout the global health crisis, the UFC has been one of the very few sports properties to be able to continue to put on shows.

After a brief hiatus, the UFC returned to action--behind closed doors--in May 2020 and was able to put on a show nearly every week for the rest of the year.