The long-awaited return of both boxing and mixed martial arts competition may resume in California after the state athletic commission approved new safety regulations that will be implemented for the coronavirus pandemic.
The state athletic commission will however require a “quarantine bubble” around participants in every event, including referees and judges. The events also, unfortunately, must be held without fans. Some states are allowing a reduced capacity of fans, usually somewhere between 25 and 50% than what a venue normally holds.
Based on the history of combat sports competition in California and how they handle business, I’m guessing that they’re going to be strict protocols in place and there will be no room for error. The regional level shows probably will not be able to afford to host events at this time.
While no specifics as far as testing protocols are concerned were revealed. I’m sure that the full guidelines for hosting any sanctioned combat sport in California will be made public in the coming days.
Christopher James has been in the MMA industry for 15 years, Working as a ring announcer for promotions like the XFC, Island Fights, Combat Night and Fight Nights Global during his career. Chris’ love for the sport and the athletes that partake in it led him to writing and doing face to face interviews with the athletes he admired and respected. Chris isn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination, he has his own style, and takes pride in not being a “cookie-cutter” member of the media. Unique and sometimes controversial takes are what he brings to the table, forcing folks to think a little differently about the world of MMA. He also has a love for music as he has been a dj for 25 years and his love for music gets brought to the MMA world when he gets his guests to sing on his weekly show Cage Side with Christopher James which can be seen Wednesday nights on FACEBOOK LIVE, and soon via podcast.