We’re now approaching two months into an almost complete lock-down of the United States, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As our nation and the rest of the world are looking to gradually resume normalcy, the state of professional sports is not looking good for the rest of 2020. While NFL is still planning to kick off the 2020-2021 season in the fall, both NBA and NHL likely won’t start their regular seasons until the very end of the year – and that’s the best case scenario. However MMA followers might have it better than the fans of more traditional ball-and-stick team sports: there are only 3 people who have to be in the combat arena at any given time, which makes it far more reasonable to practice some semblance of social distancing. UFC president Dana White has been raring at the bit to bring back violent action in the Octagon. And while UFC 249 had to be postponed from the originally scheduled date of April 18th, it looks like things have finally fallen into place – though we won’t be seeing the long awaited lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov just yet, we are going to see some actual MMA fights this Saturday! (Fingers crossed).
Of course in the big scheme of things, lack of professional sports is a comparatively minor problem during a pandemic. Aside from the obvious worrying about infection and illness, a huge number of people are out of work and have a hard time paying the bills or putting food on the table. And even those of us who are lucky to still have a job – and perhaps even an ability to work remotely from the safety of our homes – are bound to be affected by the uncertainty of the current situation. The anxiety can build up, leading to depression and other psychological issues. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, please seek professional help. You might think that you can’t afford it, but the cost of therapy may be less than you realize. And while it’s easy to dismiss sports as meaningless entertainment, for those of us who are used to watching MMA fights every weekend – or basketball games several times a week, the change in routine brings additional free time to fill. This is certainly not helping anyone’s mental state. Luckily, Dana White and UFC are coming to the rescue. Let’s take a look at three top-billed fights from each of the three UFC events scheduled in the next ten days.










