The United States government ordered its non-emergency employees and their families out of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The same morning, Turki Alalshikh posted the official face-off graphic for Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli and told fans to book their tickets for October 31 at The Venue in Riyadh.

Those two facts sit ten days apart on the calendar and about ten hours apart on the clock. Neither side has changed its position since the first missile hit King Khalid International Airport on October 10.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott confirmed the order Wednesday afternoon, describing it as an “ordered departure for non-emergency US government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” according to Reuters. Pigott tied the decision to Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian airports and critical infrastructure that have caused casualties and major travel disruption, and said protecting American diplomatic personnel and their families is the department’s top priority.

Earlier in the day, three US officials had told Reuters that Washington was preparing departures from embassies across the Gulf. Pigott pushed back on that on X, writing “This is inaccurate,” and limited the order to Saudi Arabia. Two officials told Reuters the departures “could eventually cover all personnel and families” at the US Mission to Saudi Arabia. A diplomatic source went further to AFP, saying “All American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia” and that families of embassy staff were also ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, according to the Times of Israel liveblog. The State Department’s on-record statement remains the narrower one.

The US Embassy in Riyadh also issued a security alert Wednesday warning of possible further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The State Department travel advisory for the kingdom remains at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, dated October 12, citing “risk of drone and missile targeting of American interests.” An ordered departure is the step before a Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory, and the department has not taken that step as of Wednesday evening.

The attacks did not pause for the announcement. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said air defenses downed a drone Wednesday morning that was attempting to strike a facility at the Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province. Falling debris set a contractor’s vehicle on fire outside the facility walls. “The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two individuals, a Filipino and a Nepali, and injuries to two others,” the ministry said, adding that operations were not affected, according to Sabq. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said separately that five drones were intercepted and destroyed Wednesday, and that they “targeted Medina and the Eastern Region,” according to Gulf News.

At the same time, King Khalid International Airport reopened Wednesday for the first time since October 10, on a limited basis. Saudia and flynas operated domestic flights with prior permission, according to the Associated Press. Lufthansa and Air France have cancelled their Riyadh service through mid-November. For a fight card drawing fighters, trainers, officials and media from Mexico, Canada, the United States, Britain and elsewhere, the question of how people get into Riyadh for October 31 is now about which airlines are flying, not whether the runway is open.

The kingdom is also adding defenders. French President Emmanuel Macron made an unannounced visit to Riyadh Wednesday, the first Western leader to visit since the attacks began, and confirmed French forces have been protecting the Yanbu oil terminal on the Red Sea for the past eight days. Britain announced Monday it would send fighter jets to intercept Houthi projectiles over Saudi territory, according to Shafaq News. Egypt’s president said any Egyptian support would be “strictly defensive,” and Turkey has submitted its defense pact with Saudi Arabia to parliament for ratification ahead of a possible troop mandate.

None of that moved the fight. Alalshikh’s Wednesday post read, in part, “Canelo vs Mbilli face to face in Riyadh, an epic showdown at Mexico vs The World as part of Riyadh Season,” with a tale-of-the-tape graphic listing Canelo at 63-3-2 with 39 knockouts, a 70 and a half inch reach and 5 feet 7 and a half inches, and Mbilli at 29-0-1 with 24 knockouts, a 72 inch reach and 5 feet 8 and a half inches. It ended with “Book your ticket now.”

The ticketing site lists general admission, Platinum and Diamond tiers with four additional categories, with the lowest general admission price converting to roughly 12 to 24 euros depending on the tier. Children six and older are admitted to general admission and 16 and older to VIP sections, and recording equipment is barred. BoxingInsider’s earlier ticket coverage has the full breakdown. Pricing at that level is consistent with a card built for the local Riyadh Season audience rather than a traveling crowd, which is also consistent with where the airlines are.

Wednesday was also the scheduled opening day of Riyadh Season itself, which Alalshikh announced last week would run ten weeks under the “Big Time” banner. The Canelo card is the first major international sporting event on that calendar after the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition was pushed to late December, the subject of BoxingInsider’s earlier report. Saudi Arabia has since postponed the Future Investment Initiative, the PIF Saudi International golf tournament, an EU-Gulf summit and several Pro League fixtures, as detailed in Tuesday’s piece. The combat sports calendar has not moved: Canelo vs. Mbilli on October 31, WWE Crown Jewel on November 7, Zuffa Boxing’s Yoenis Adames vs. Gerome Warburton on November 14, and UFC Riyadh on December 5.

WWE’s position is unchanged as well. Triple H posted the official Crown Jewel poster last week with the caption “WWE Crown Jewel is LIVE from Riyadh. Saturday, November 7 at 12 p.m. ET,” and the show has continued to be advertised for Riyadh on Raw with Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn and Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green in champion-versus-champion matches, according to Wrestling Inc. Neither WWE nor TKO has issued a statement on the security situation. Guggenheim analysts have estimated Saudi site fees as a meaningful portion of TKO’s live event revenue, which is the business context for a decision that has so far been made quietly.

Canelo’s own position was set in his Ring Magazine interview and has not changed. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said last week in Mexico that he considers it “totalmente irresponsable” for the organization’s boxers, judges, referees and representatives to be in Riyadh without him, and that he expects to travel at the end of the month. Robert Garcia, who trains undercard fighter Jesus Delgado, has been the only participant to say publicly that he is uneasy about the trip, as reported in Tuesday’s piece.

Fight week, per Alalshikh’s published schedule, opens Tuesday, October 27, with the grand arrivals. The ordered departure applies to US government employees and their dependents. It does not restrict private American citizens from traveling, and the State Department has not said it intends to. What it has said is that the people it is responsible for should leave. The people Riyadh Season is responsible for are being told to arrive.