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Twelve competing UFC fighters will undergo stringent daily medical tests for Covid-19 in a sealed off hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, ahead of next Saturday's event as the mixed martial arts fight league becomes the first sport to return since the pandemic lockdown six weeks ago. Those tests will extend to team members and all workers on the event in a sealed off hotel with 24-hour credential passes and heightened security to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection this week. The fight league has announced three events in eight days - May 9, May 13, May 16 - at the same Jacksonville venue, the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Saturday night's event, numbered UFC 249 and a pay per view event to be aired on BT Sport in the UK and on ESPN in the United States, will showcase a group of the UFC's most renowned fighters, whose teams have all tested with coronavirus kits at home before travelling to the Florida, with the event taking place behind closed doors. Staff at the venue will be kept to a minimum, with guidelines to be adhered to by the UFC, the Florida State Athletic Commission, and the rules set out by the broadcasters ESPN. The complexity of the situation given the requirement to optimise safety standards for fighters, their teams and staff working the event throughout the week has seen the UFC issue extra-ordinary guidelines on such things as using workout mats, the sauna, and even ordering food from the hotel. A letter to the fighters and their managers outlined that "the only people allowed into the hotel with our group will be our designated staff, athletes on the card and their licensed cornermen. Additional guests, such as family, friends, managers, additional training partners, will not be allowed."
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