Nevada (USA): UFC 249 is still on schedule for April 18, with Tony Ferguson fighting Justin Gaethje for an interim lightweight title in the main event.
Although UFC President Dana White hasn’t announced a venue for his promotion's biggest pay-per-view show of the spring, he remains determined to hold an event in less than two weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The mixed martial arts promotion announced the change to UFC 249's main event bout Monday. Gaethje replaces lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is apparently unable to leave Russia amid the pandemic.
“The fight is signed and is 100% ON LIVE on ESPN somewhere on EARTH!!!!” White tweeted Monday.
Not only is UFC 249 set to happen on April 18, but White says he is getting a private island so he can run fights every week, including with international fighters who currently cannot enter the US because of travel restrictions.
“I’m a day or two away from securing a private island. I have a private island that I’ve secured,” the UFC president told a website.
“We’re getting the infrastructure put in now, so I’m gonna start doing the international fights too with international fighters. I won’t be able to get international fighters, all of them, into the US, so I have a private island. I’m gonna start flying them all into the private island and start doing international fights from there.
“So as of April 18, the UFC is back up and running” he added.
White has remained steadfast in his plan for the UFC to fight on while virtually all high-level sports competition has stopped around the world. Even if the UFC fights without fans as expected, most U.S. states and developed nations have restrictions in place that would make it impossible to stage an MMA show.
White also said that he is attempting to secure the use of a private island to hold several shows over the next two months, flying the fighters and support personnel to the island on private planes. He said the UFC will screen the health of every participant before the fights occur.
