UFC Fight Night to Take Place without an Audience

Concerns over health risks related to the coronavirus continue to impact the sports world. The upcoming UFC Fight Night will go on, but the event will take place in an empty arena. The event takes place in Brazil and will air on ESPN+ in the United States. The lengthy card features 12 matches with a highly anticipated main event. Kevin Lee battles Charles Oliveira in a bout already mired in controversy. Lee did not make weight for the fight, but the match goes on. Lee, however, must give up a portion of his purse. Reportedly, Oliveira will receive 20% of Lee’s payoff.

Fans are likely happy the event won’t suffer any cancellations. The main event, if not the entire card, should suffer somewhat due to the lack of an audience.

Viewers, whether ones watching at home or in the arena itself, don’t always realize how important an audience is. Audiences often build up and push the drama of an event. All the yelling and screaming in the stands complement the action in the cage. When a fighter makes a comeback, and the audience gets behind him or her, the entertainment level increases. The audience’s reaction highlights the spontaneity and emotions of a good fight. Sometimes, crowd reactions can improve an otherwise dull match. When you take the audience out of the mix, the viewing experience drops.

Although the audience won’t be there, the matches’ outcomes are still legitimate. Whoever wins moves up the rankings towards title contention. And, of course, the fighters still get paid. Viewers might end up turned off, though. And that could have some ramifications.

If the event comes off as flat or dull, fans might not make UFC Fight Night “must watch” TV. That said, the reasons for running the event without a crowd makes sense and will be temporary. In time, once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, the UFC and other live event promotions will go back to normal operations.