Dana White says UFC 249 will definitely take place despite the Coronavirus outbreak.
With UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov stuck in Dagestan, his highly anticipated title fight with Tony Ferguson is in real danger of getting cancelled. The fight was scheduled to take place on April 18.
The Coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world. The outbreak has caused the entire world to come to a standstill. Sporting events around the world have been either cancelled or postponed in wake of the outbreak. UFC also had to cancel its three-fight cards.
UFC is actively looking for a replacement opponent for Tony Ferguson. The promotion has reached out to Justin Gaethje who is managed by the same management company as Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, irrespective of it Gaethje steps up to fight Ferguson or not, UFC president Dana White is adamant about making the fight happen.
“The challenges are that every time I get something figured out, I wake up the next day and the world has completely changed again,” White said on the Heavyweight podcast. “Everything that I work hard on the day before, me and my crew, has now fallen apart. It literally just happened to us again today. I woke up today and Khabib Nurmagomedov is in Russia and they just shut down all travel in and out of Russia.
“I woke up this morning and the whole world f*cking changed again. So back to the drawing board and we’re figuring this out right now as we’re speaking right now, I have people working on this thing as we speak. Listen, I am absolutely f*cking relentless and I said that this fight is going to go on and it will.”
Dana White will ensure the best possible medical facilities for fighters
The highly contagious virus has spread through numerous countries and has infected over 600,000 people globally. The virus has also claimed over 25,000 deaths worldwide. Europe and the US are the hardest hit by the virus. However, despite all of this, Dana White insisted that he wants to put up UFC 249 is because his staff wants to work and they’re ready with the best medical care possible for fighters.
“We go overboard with everything all the time,” White said. “Think about this … in the 20-year history that I’ve been involved and before me, there’s never been a death or serious injury. That’s crazy. Cheerleading can’t say that. We go completely overboard with health and safety even before the coronavirus. The health and safety part is nothing new to us. It’s now just trying to be able to maneuver as the world continues to freak out and lose their mind over this coronavirus stuff. All my fighters want to fight. My staff wants to work. Everybody who’s involved in what I’m doing is absolutely willing and able to do this.
“The thing is with my fighters, when they’re with me, they’re getting the best medical attention they could possibly get. Better if they were home alone by themselves or whatever their situation is. I’ve reached out to everybody, not just my employees that work for me, but my fighters, too — if them or a loved one becomes ill and needs me, I’m here. I will do everything in my power to help and take care of them. That’s a given always. This fight will go on.”
Where will the fight take place?
The UFC has been very secretive about the venue for UFC 249. Despite the fight being less than 3 weeks away, the fans have no idea as to where the event will take place.
“A lot of these media guys are absolute and total f*cking scumbags. As soon as you let them know what you’re doing, all they’re trying to do is f*ck up everything that you’ve worked,” White said.
“So I literally told everyone of these guys to go f*ck themselves and I’m not telling any of them what I’m doing, where I’m doing it but know this — the fight is happening on April 18, some where on planet f*cking Earth and when you need to know, I’ll let you know.” (H/T – MMA Fighting)
Do you guys think Dana White will be able to host UFC 249?
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