Dana White Discusses Postponing Three UFC Fight Night Events, Claims Ferguson vs. Khabib ‘Is Still On’

UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN SportsCenter yesterday and spoke more about how the promotion has now postponed its next three events due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also had an update on the status of UFC 249. You can view a video of that segment below.

As a result of the coronavirus, the UFC will no longer be able to hold its scheduled Fight Night cards for March 21, March 28, and April 11. The White House recently recommended to avoid gatherings of 10 or more. White had hoped they could conduct the events similar to UFC on ESPN+ 28 and have the events in an empty arena. However, holding the events with only 10 people would’ve been impossible. White stated the following:

“Obviously, the president just spoke to the country and basically said — it started at [no more than] 50 people in a room, which made [Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Brasilia] difficult, but we complied, we took all fans out and made sure as few production people in the room as possible, we pulled it off last Saturday. Now, they’re saying thee should be no more than 10 people, and that’s impossible. We can’t do it. We’ve complied with everything the government and doctors have said to do, we have no choice but to postpone these fights.”

The big question now is what will happen to UFC 249, which scheduled for April 18 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The fight card is slated to feature a headlining title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. White claimed that the fight is still on and will happen.

Speaking on UFC 249, White stated, “Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov is still on. That will happen. We’re going to follow these guidelines, not have more than 10 people in a room. We’re hoping this all clears up by April, and this fight is going to happen. Whatever it takes, probably not in the United States, but this fight is going to happen.”

With so many events being cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen if UFC 249 will play out as Dana White states, considering the other Fight Night events are already off.