Dana White assures fans: “Tony Ferguson versus Khabib, April 18, is still on and that will still happen”

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to defend his title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18, 2020.

Last weekend’s UFC Brasilia event was forced to be converted to a closed-door event amid the growing concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The UFC have now went a step further and announced the cancellation of their next 3 events.

Fans are seriously worried that UFC 249 might also be cancelled, as it is set to take place in New York. Last Friday, Governor Cuomo issued a ban on all events with more than 500 people in attendance, leaving the UFC 249 event in jeopardy.

With the event being only 1 month away, the UFC are doing in their power to keep the show going. UFC president Dana White made a recent appearance on the SportsCenter, assuring the fans that the fight will happen on April 18.

“Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib on April 18 is still on and that will still happen,” White said.

“We’re going to follow these guidelines not to have more than 10 people in a room, and we’re hoping this all clears up by April,” White added when pressed for details on how Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson can be made possible. “This fight’s going to happen. No crowd — whatever it takes. [It’s] probably not even going to be in the United States but this fight’s going to happen.

“Khabib-Tony is on for the original date. We’re going to keep fighting.” White concluded.

It appears that UFC 249 will not be taking place in New York anymore. A new location has not been revealed yet, but UFC president Dana White suggests that it may take place outside of the United States.

If that was the case, possible locations for it would be the Middle East, Russia or Las Vegas. Khabib Nurmagomedov has previously defended his title in Abu Dhabi, where UFC held their 242nd PPV event.

The UFC have also held events in Russia, with their last one being UFC Fight Night 149, which was headlined by Alistair Overeem and Aleksei Oleinik in September of last year.

This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 17th March, 2020.