UFC 249 was scheduled for April 18; however, the powers that be from ESPN told Dana White to postpone the event. The entire world of sports is on hold and while White wanted to prove the UFC could move forward during the current tide of the pandemic, it would seem he will have wait with everyone else.
Naturally, he was disappointed, both fighters and fans were looking forward to some form of normalcy while others thought the idea of trying to hold an event during a pandemic was too risky. White did his best to reassure everyone that safety was going to be paramount above all else, but the truth of the matter is, waiting it out is probably the safest bet for everyone.
Still, when the news broke early Thursday evening, naturally fighters took to social media to express their own reactions to UFC 249 and any future events being postponed by the UFC. UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling said, “Sad for the fighters and fans who got their hopes up for this. But maybe it’s best to give this virus more time to blow over. It’s probably bitter-sweet for many of the workers and fighters scheduled to scrap. We all want to make money, but we want to protect our families too.”
Sterling’s teammate Chris Weidman seems to have been willing to step back into action too. He tweeted the following:
Other fighters chimed in as well:
White has vowed to be the first sport back. In the full ESPN interview, he even said that he could still go on April 18 but with ESPN/Disney telling him not to go forward; he will fall in line with the rest of the world in trying to stay put to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
What was your reaction to the news?
