UFC President Dana White broke the news a lot of people were hoping to hear. The main man of the MMA organization announced yesterday that he has found a venue to host Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson on April 18.
Initially, the event had to take place in Brooklyn, New York, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, major sporting events were suspended or done without fans. The city of New York has forbidden all gathering of 50 or more people, but White was confident the fifth time will be the charm for the main event.
“I do know where it is,” White said on Instagram Live when asked if he has a clue where the event will take place. “But I’m not ready to tell you yet. I know lots of things. … There’s not going to be any fans there. It’s going to be a closed event.”
FOUR WEEKS 🏆 #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/43veQJi0WL
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2020
White has been bold in his assertion that, despite any hiccups, UFC business will press on. He’s promised that his organization will be “the first” sport to get back in full swing, but that attitude has been met with some criticism.
“Everybody who is going to be involved in this thing is going to be because they want to be, not because they have to be or they have to do anything,” White said. “Believe me: We didn’t just start thinking about safety when the coronavirus popped up. Health and safety, these are things that normal businesses that are out there right now don’t necessarily have to think about 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.”
Source: www.mmajunkie.usatoday.com
