UFC 249 may have a new location set in stone soon.
ESPN reports that the UFC brass believes a new location will be finalized for the April 18 event and it’ll likely be on the West Coast of the United States. UFC 249 was initially set to take place inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Those plans were derailed when an executive order was put in place, limiting the gathering of events in the state of New York. As more states entered a lockdown over fears of the coronavirus, it was clear that holding UFC 249 on its original date would be a tough task.
UFC 249 Could Have New Location In Coming Days
UFC president Dana White responded to a fake Ariel Helwani Twitter account, claiming that he will announce the updated UFC 249 card tomorrow.
“Absolutely NOT true!!! The card is happening but @TeamKhabib is out. I will announce the entire card tomorrow.”
Tony Ferguson was scheduled to challenge UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 249. Nurmagomedov is stuck in Russia due to a travel ban so the bout will not take place on April 18.
Reports surfaced claiming that Justin Gaethje is the frontrunner to replace “The Eagle” but the bout has not been signed. Ferguson told ESPN that he’s willing to throw down with anyone as long as a location is made official.
“It doesn’t matter who we have. We’re gonna try to make this thing go,” Ferguson said. “At least some of the people in the world have a little bit of hope. The guys that are really doing it are the doctors and the nurses and the people taking care of everybody. If we can do our little bit of part to try and make something happen, I’m down with that.”
What do you make of the UFC continuing to push forward with holding an event on April 18 despite the circumstances?
