UFC president Dana White says a location is set for UFC 249.
White has promised that the event will indeed take place on April 18. Scheduled to headline the card is a UFC lightweight title bout between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. The bout was initially set to take place in Brooklyn, NY but with the coronavirus pandemic at full force, the UFC had to reverse course.
Dana White Confirms UFC 249 Has New Location
Speaking to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole during an Instagram live chat, White confirmed that a new location has been set for UFC 249 (via MMAFighting.com).
”I do, but I’m not ready to tell you yet,” White said during an Instagram Live chat when asked if he knows where the pay-per-view event is being held.
White went on to say that no one who will take part in the UFC 249 event is being forced to do so.
”Everyone that’s going to be involved in this thing is going to be involved because they want to be, not because they have to be or they have to do anything,” he said. “There’s not going to be any fans there. This is going to be a closed event. And believe me, we didn’t just start thinking about safety when the coronavirus popped up, OK? Health and safety, these are things that normal businesses that are out there right now don’t necessarily have to think of on a daily basis.
Health and safety is something we’ve been doing long before the coronavirus, and we’ll be doing it long after the coronavirus is gone. This is just normal (expletive) for us.”
While COVID-19 has rocked the world of sports, including MMA promotions, White has been adamant in his pursuit to keep as many events on track as possible. White was forced to postpone three events due to CDC guidelines but he hopes to keep promoting the rest of the UFC cards scheduled.
