Dana takes part of the blame for Khabib's absence at UFC 249: 'It wasn't just him'

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

Ultimate's president, Dana White, opened up and took part of the responsibility for the absence of Khabib Nurmagomedov No. UFC 249. The 'big boss' of the organization stated that the uncertainties surrounding holding a card during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic influenced the lack of communication between the parties, which ended up being important for the lightweight champion (up to 70,3, XNUMXkg.) would be 'trapped' in their country with the closure of borders.

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“There were a lot of questions about Khabib, people were saying: 'He was trapped in Russia'. What he said is absolutely true. None of us saw what happened, how fast the world was changing and it was literally changing with each passing day. We all made some bad decisions that left him stranded in Moscow. It wasn't just him, we all did it. I take responsibility for that too,” White said in an interview with 'RT Sports'.

At the time, information was circulating behind the scenes at MMA that the card, which would take place on April 18, could be transferred to the United Arab Emirates. As the United States was taking increasingly strict measures to restrict the promotion of public events, Nurmagomedov then traveled to Russia to finish his training period, hoping that the show would, in fact, migrate to Abu Dhabi.

Upon arriving in his country, Khabib ended up being a victim of misinformation about the event. White followed the strategy of not canceling the card, but remained adamant in not confirming the location of the event even with just a few weeks to go.

At one point, the lightweight champion decided to publicly announce that he would not participate in the card, both due to the lack of clarity in the negotiations and the dangers caused by the coronavirus. The athlete was then quickly replaced by Justin gaethje, who agreed to face Tony Ferguson in a valid fight for the interim belt of the category.

The April 18th card ended up being officially postponed to May 9th, but Justin continued as one of the protagonists of the event, with Khabib out. Even without the star of the division, White is still betting on a great show, which takes place this Saturday.

“It happened, and you know what we got out of it? We have Gaethje against Ferguson. It will be absolutely fantastic”, concluded the agent.