Dana White takes UFC 249 out of Las Vegas and guarantees a new location for the attraction

D. White at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

O UFC 249, scheduled for April 18th, already has a new venue defined. The franchise's president, Dana White, assured that he will not cancel the show even with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the attraction will leave Las Vegas and will take place outside the USA.

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In an online chat with reporter Kevin Iole, from Yahoo Sports, Dana commented on the work he has done to ensure the UFC 249 not be cancelled. The president stated that the attraction already has a new home, but preferred not to reveal the location. He also stated that the card will be held behind closed doors.

PUBLICITY:

“I know (where it will be). But I'm not ready to tell you yet. I know a lot of things… There won't be any fans there. It will be a closed event,” said White.

Dana White has been reluctant about the possibility of canceling attractions due to the coronavirus. The president guarantees that the UFC takes all precautions for the safety of athletes and is not concerned with social isolation recommendations.

PUBLICITY:

“Everyone who gets involved in this will be because they want to be, not because they have to be involved. Believe me: we didn't start thinking about safety only when the coronavirus appeared. Health and safety, those are things that normal businesses out there don't necessarily have to consider on a daily basis. Health and safety is something we have been doing long before coronavirus, and will continue to do long after coronavirus is over. This s*** is normal for us”, he concluded.

UFC 249, Khabib vs Ferguson

O UFC 249 will have as its main attraction the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov x Tony Ferguson. The duel is one of the most anticipated fights of 2020. The lightweights have already been scheduled to face each other in the octagon on four occasions before the UFC 249, but all were canceled due to health or injury reasons – twice for each of the fighters.

PUBLICITY:

In addition to the duel between Khabib x Ferguson, the UFC 249 highlights the presence of two Brazilians: In the second most important duel of the attraction, Jessica Stacker faces Rose namajunas, where the winner must be the next rival of Weili Zhang for the attraction's strawweight belt. Already Ronaldo Jacare returns to middleweight (up to 83.9 kg.) and faces Uriah Hall, the 'Ambulance Man'.

Check out the full card below UFC 249: