Report: UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 in Boston no longer in jeopardy

The UFC’s return to Boston in August will go on as scheduled, and the “positive outcome” the promotion was hoping for apparently has been found.

The Boston Herald on Sunday reported the Aug. 17 UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 card set for the city can go on as planned. As reported earlier this month, a Massachsetts law preventing foreign-born fighters without U.S. Social Security numbers from competing was putting the show in jeopardy.

But UFC President Dana White told the Herald the issue has been resolved.

UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 is set for TD Garden in Boston. The event, headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Chael Sonnen and Mauricio Rua, will serve as the programming centerpiece on the launch date of the new FOX Sports 1 cable network. The UFC and FOX are in the second year of a seven-year broadcast partnership.

“You know, when it gets down to the fact, do you want to change the card? You know, do you want to move fights around and switch fights?” White told the paper. “When that starts happening, it’s like ‘Yeah, maybe we can’t do the fight here.’ But, you know, we figured it out. … We ended up getting everything straightened out. The fights will happen. The card will be great. It’s going to be good. There’s always something. It literally never ends. There’s always something, something that pops up or whatever. We’re pretty used to dealing with this stuff.”

After the Herald’s initial report surfaced earlier this month, the UFC issued a statement saying it anticipated a “positive outcome” to the problem. The show will be the UFC’s first in Boston since UFC 118 in August 2010.

Massachsetts, according to the Herald, is the only state in the country with the law requiring licensed fighters also have a Social Security number. The law apparently was on the books when the UFC made its first trip to Boston – but despite five foreign-born fighters on that card, there were no issues because it reportedly was a rule even the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission wasn’t aware of.

UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 currently has 11 foreign-born fighters on the card, including Rua in the main event and Alistair Overeem, who meets Travis Browne in the co-main event.

After the UFC’s legal team began working on the issue nearly two weeks ago, the hurdles appear to be cleared, according to White. Fighters without Social Security numbers can apply for them if they have held work visas, according to the Herald. And that would be the case for the foreign-born fighters on the card.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety told the Herald earlier this month that the UFC has known about the law and was ignoring it.

“This law has been in existence since we legalized mixed martial arts in the commonwealth of Mass­achusetts,” Terrell Harris told the newspaper. “It’s been brought to the attention of the UFC more than a few times since we legalized the fighting here. But they’ve chosen basically to ignore the law and hope that they could skirt it somehow.”

If that was the case, it no longer seems to be, and any qualms about the show going on as planned have been answered. Tickets for the event have been on sale to the general public for 10 days.

The latest UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 card includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
• Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem
• Yuri Alcantara vs. Urijah Faber
• Thiago Alves vs. Matt Brown
• Uriah Hall vs. Nick Ring
• Michael “The Menace” Johnson vs. Joe Lauzon

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 6 p.m. ET)

• Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett
• Conor McGregor vs. Andy Ogle
• Mike Brown vs. Akira Corassani
• Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)

• Manny Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
• Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
• Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick

For the latest on UFC on FOX Sports 1 1, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua)