Dana White’s plans about the UFC 249 and about providing events each weekend were ruined recently. However, the president of the most prominent MMA organization in the world isn’t discouraged and is preparing a different thing now.
According to the schedule which was already designed before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the UFC 250 should happen on May 9. Originally, the venue of the event was supposed to be Rio de Janeiro, but for sure, that won’t be the case. Now, the sources from inside the organization are claiming that White aims to relocate that event and that he already has several fights arranged for it.
After canceling the UFC 249, he promised that the UFC would be the first major sports to comeback following the crisis, and in this case, he is more than determined to fulfill his commitment. Higher authorities prevented the UFC 249 event from happening, although White had everything prepared for a super spectacle.
Just to remind, the bout for the interim lightweight title between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje was to headline the event, with Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik clashing in a heavyweight title eliminator. Apart from these two fights, Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade were planned for the co-main event, but Namajunas pulled out in the last moment due to death cases in her family related to COVID-19 virus.
The location of the event was Tachi Palace, on Tachi-Yokut tribal land. However, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom called UFC’s partners Disney Company and ESPN, the whole thing was canceled.
White was disappointed after everything but stated that the UFC would come back before all others.
“We will be the first sport back,” White said. “‘Fight Island’ is real. It’s a real thing. The infrastructure is being built right now, and that’s really going to happen. It will be on ESPN.”
Regarding “Fight Island,” nobody knows where that might be. But its role is extremely important because it would provide White and the UFC a location for the fights, away from all the outside influences, and there won’t be a possibility for any interventions which might cancel the show.
The hype surrounding UFC 250 is starting to heat up, and the same sources are saying that several fights are already agreed upon verbally. The organization didn’t officially announce anything yet, but according to the same insiders, that will happen soon.
Among them is the bout between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, for the bantamweight title. Also, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Anthony Pettis accepted the opportunity to meet one another in the welterweight division. Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer has included as well as the headliner of the previously canceled UFC 249, Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje.
The recent development surrounding White and the entire saga about the organization of the fights during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of reactions. Some are on his side and were furious because politics stopped the UFC 249. On the other hand, there were those who backed up such a decision, saying that this isn’t the proper time for sports events, because of all the tragedies in the world caused by the pandemic.
