Bellator cancels all MMA events scheduled to take place in May
It's safe to say that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has brought the world down to its knees. In a never-seen-before situation, entire countries are being locked down and there are bans on international, inter-state and even inter-city travel in many countries. Needless to say, the ongoing pandemic has brought a screeching halt to normal life as we know it.
Economies have been affected adversely due to the lockdowns and a global recession is on the cards. The sports industry is suffering more than most of the other industries and with the fans not being allowed to attend sporting events, the same are being canceled, postponed and called off worldwide. Even the Olympics 2020 scheduled to take place in Tokyo has been postponed and will not take place this year.
The MMA industry is also suffering from the effects of the pandemic on sporting events as the UFC was forced to cancel all of its scheduled events in March due to the ongoing pandemic and its president, Dana White has been running from pillar to post to organize a closed doors pay-per-view on April 18 which already saw its main event attraction and reigning UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov pulling out due to a travel ban in Russia.
Now, Bellator has followed suit and decided to call off all of its scheduled fights for the month of May. According to ESPN journalist Ariel Helwani, Bellator 242 on May 9 in San Jose, Calif., Bellator London on May 16 and Bellator 243 on May 29 in Temecula, Calif., have all been canceled and will be rescheduled later once the situation improves.