The state of Texas will now begin to allow live audiences at combat sports events once more, albeit in a limited fashion. Promotions will now be allowed submit licensure requests in order to be able to have fans in attendance at their events, something that will be a huge boost to the competitive grappling circuit. Fight 2 Win have held a great number of their events in the state of Texas and will no doubt look to take advantage of this opportunity to start increasing their revenue. Likewise, Third Coast Grappling are an exclusively Texas-based promotion and as such, it only makes sense for them to apply for a license to hold events in front of a live audience.
This marks the first time since March that the state of Texas will be open to requests for live audiences at combat sports events and it’s likely that the local grappling promotions aren’t the only ones eager to take advantage. The UFC has gone to great lengths to be able to hold events during the Covid-19 pandemic and given that they’ve resorted to holding events on an island in Abu Dhabi, it makes sense that they’d take advantage of the ability to hold events in front of live audiences a little closer to home.
The news broke when MMAJunkie managed to obtain a document from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TLDR) that outlined exactly what they expect of combat sports promotions who wish to have fans in attendance:
“Promoters must submit their own operational plan to TDLR and to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The operational plan must detail the promoter’s plans for daily COVID-19 screenings, providing protective equipment and staffing, as well as cleaning and disinfecting the event venue and athlete delegation housing.”
“When deciding whether to allow an event to proceed, TDLR will monitor factors including positive test rates and hospitalization rates in the area where the event is scheduled. If there’s a localized spike in cases, the agency may cancel an event any time up to the beginning of the bouts.”
