UFC 249 will not be held at a California tribal casino this month after broadcaster ESPN reportedly refused to air the event due to COVID-19 concerns.

Earlier this week, word spread that UFC 249 would be held at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in central California. The event was originally scheduled for April 18 in New York City but was cancelled after the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to large public gatherings.

The California State Athletic Commission had banned all combat sports through the end of May but the Tachi casino’s operators are a federally recognized tribe and thus a sovereign nation able to make its own decisions on what transpires on its land.

That theory came to naught on Thursday as the UFC issued a terse statement saying that while it was “fully prepared” to go ahead with the event, “ESPN has requested the postponement of the event and subsequent bouts until further notice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The UFC said it looks forward to resuming its live events “as soon as possible.”