According to Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, he was fully prepared to go forward with his planned UFC 249 pay-per-view card, which was scheduled to take place on April 18.
Despite countless pleas to postpone the event, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, White was motivated to stage the card - while nearly every other sport is sitting on the sidelines in just about every country.
White had planned to stage the card at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Fresno, California. The venue, which sits on the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation, would have allowed White to sidestep the current social distancing restrictions in the state.
Even with the numerous changes with the card, including the main event, White was racing forward.
But on Thursday, White revealed to ESPN's Brett Okamoto that his card is being postponed. And other UFC cards would also be postponed until further notice.
White was told to stand down, by high level executives from Disney and ESPN. The UFC's events, specifically the pay-per-views, are distributed by ESPN - which is owned by Disney.
"Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN ... and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event on Saturday," White said.
Earlier this week, White also stated that his company was about to secure a private island, for the purposes of staging cards involving international athletes who who were unable to enter the United States.