Dana White opens up on Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson amidst Coronavirus crackdown
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson is among the most highly-anticipated UFC fights that is scheduled to take place next month. But with many sporting events cancelled in the last couple of weeks owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, fans have been worried whether it will take place at all.
Good news for the anxious fans - it might just happen as planned. In an chat with ESPN's SportsCenter, UFC President Dana White recently assured everyone that the fight will go on. The update was shared by Brett Okamoto on his Twitter.
Dana White: Khabib vs Tony will happen
Many would say that the fight is quite cursed, since it has already been booked and cancelled four times before because of injuries and missed weights. This time it seemed like everything was going to go smoothly, till the highly infectious Coronavirus took the form of a pandemic.
But there is no need for the fans to "freak out" as the fight will most certainly happen, assures Dana White.
However, the fight was originally scheduled to take place in Brooklyn, which cannot happen anymore, as the state of New York has declared emergency and banned all gatherings of 500 or more people. But White is hopeful that they will have a venue by April 18.
"As of now, fights can't happen at the Apex here in Las Vegas. So, we're working to find new locations, but the fights will go on; they will continue. We're not stopping.. So, we had possibly a couple different venues for that fight, including Nevada. So, now the whole Nevada thing went down, so we're looking for another venue. I hope by [Sunday morning], I should have two venue options for that fight."
UFC is practically the only professional sports body that is still organizing events amidst the outbreak, and Dana White positively confirmed that they will continue to do so unless the country was under government lock-down.
"Unless there's a total shutdown of the country, where people can't leave their houses and things like that, these fights will happen. We're gonna move on. These fights will happen. These guys will compete. We will find venues, and we will figure this thing out. I mean, the only thing that's gonna stop us is a complete government shutdown, where everybody is confined to their homes."