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With the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, many sports leagues and events have been canceled or suspended, and the UFC has had to adjust its plans as well. As of right now, the response has been to change the location of multiple events.
It was announced on March 12 by UFC president Dana White that Columbus’ UFC on ESPN 8 and Portland’s UFC Fight Night 172 have both been relocated to the UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas. This weekend’s UFC Fight Night 170 in Brasilia, Brazil, has moved facilities and will be airing without a live audience in attendance.
The fate of one fight card has not been talked about by the promotion, however, and that’s the highly-anticipated April 18 UFC 249. The main event features a fight between two fighters who many fans and analysts consider the two greatest lightweights of this generation. It is also a match that has been scheduled and canceled on four other occasions.
UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov is set to defend his belt against the No. 1 contender, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson. UFC 249 is currently scheduled to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn N.Y.
On March 12, the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, banned public gatherings of more than 500 people, which most likely means that hosting a PPV event with thousands in attendance will not be allowed. If that is the case, it’s unclear if the UFC will move the event to the Apex Center or cancel the card.
And with the uncertainty of the spread of the coronavirus, the situation may be entirely different by the time the April 18 fight rolls around.
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The Eagle Responds to the Situation Regarding UFC 249
Khabib took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the uncertainty around UFC 249:
The champ’s caption reads, “I don’t understand what is going on outside the gym. I am in the gym and I am working hard. What will happen next no one knows.”
The Fight Between Khabib & Ferguson Has Been a Long Time Coming
If UFC 249 does get canceled, it will be the fifth time the Khabib and Ferguson fight has been scheduled and nixed. Their first scheduled match was for The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale in December of 2015, but Khabib pulled out due to a rib injury. Then, the two were set to meet in April of 2016 to fight during UFC on FOX 19, but El Cucuy dropped out due to having blood in his lungs.
They were then scheduled to meet almost a year later, in March of 2017 at UFC 209, but Nurmagomedov was pulled from the card due to medical issues with his weight cut. Then, a year after that, for April 2018’s UFC 229, Ferguson pulled out of their match from sustaining a knee injury days before the fight.
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