UFC 249 and the long-awaited bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will proceed as planned, with a few changes. That is something the UFC president Dana White stated this Wednesday.
He explained the current situation with the rules that there can’t be more than 10 people in the room, adding that even if the organization follows those guidelines, there are other legal obstacles. Because of that, the fight will probably be moved to a different location than Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov is still on,” White said. “That will happen. We’re going to follow these guidelines, not have more than 10 people in a room… probably not in the United States, but this fight is going to happen.”
COVID-19 pandemic did a lot of damage to the UFC, as the organization already canceled three events. They were set to take place in London, Columbus, and Portland, and White relocated all of them to Las Vegas, yet in the meantime, the Nevada State Athletic Commission postponed any sporting activity on its territory.
The next evaluation of the circumstances is scheduled for March 25, and after that, the situation will be more clear regarding UFC 249. In the meantime, White told that he has everything it takes to make the fight happen.
“I have my own arena,” White said. “I have my own production, I have everything. I have everything you need to put on events. So, there isn’t much that I can’t pull off.”
Khabib meanwhile, is training in the USA with the American Kickboxing Academy, and can’t wait for the match to start. The Russian Eagle, and the undefeated champion who has 28 wins in a row, stated that he believes UFC can organize the event with fewer than 100 people in the venue.
The Russian doesn’t need spectators if that can’t be done, and fighting in front of an empty stand is totally fine with him.
“We don’t need too many people inside the arena,” Nurmagomedov said. “Just close the arena, and that’s it.”
His agent Ali Abdelaziz, along with Khabib, proposed that the fight takes place on the African continent, to be exact in Zaire. It would be some sort of a replica of the legendary rumble in the jungle from 1974 when Muhammad Ali and George Forman met. There wasn’t an official response, but Abdelaziz stated that he expects to receive a location over the next few days, directly from White.
The bout between Khabib and Ferguson had been canceled several times before, and at this point, neither of the fighters wants to see that happening again. Ferguson is the only guy who might stop Nurmagomedov according to the majority of experts, and if he manages to do the same, he would no doubt earn a chance to meet Conor McGregor in what could be the most expensive MMA match ever.
That is why neither he and Khabib want to delay the fight, apart from the fact that it would probably be the only massive sports event at the moment, and that it might create an enormous PPV income.
