Dana White is keen to restart fighting as soon as May. But a look at the last pandemic should give him pause for thought
At the end of the first world war, the USS Siboney made 17 transatlantic voyages carrying troops to and from Europe. During one of those crossings, a photograph was snapped of American soldiers watching a boxing match with the ocean as their backdrop. The vast majority of the soldiers wore facemasks to protect themselves from the influenza pandemic that was spreading across the globe. The photo captures one of the most severe pandemics in human history and how its effects trickled down to sports.
Now a century removed from the Spanish flu, the world is once again in a global pandemic. Airports have been shuttered, borders closed, and mass gatherings have been banned around the world as Covid-19 spreads. Sports leagues and organizations, most recently the UFC, have suspended competition.
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