President of the UFC Dana White is insisting that UFC 249 will continue and will not be a one-time event. The upcoming event will be held at a still-undisclosed location and that the promotion for the fight will be hosted on a private island.
White stated that UFC249 will not be the only event that will be coming up. The fight schedule will be back up and running on April 18. The same venue that is hosting UFC 249 will be hosting other events for the coming two months, according to the UFC President.
CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
White told TMZ on Monday, “I have this venue for two months, and we’re setting up shop here. We’re going to be pumping out fights every week. I’m also a day or two away from securing a private island. I have a private island that I’ve secured. We’re getting the infrastructure put in now, so I’m going to start doing the international fights, too, with the international fighters.”
“I’m not going to be able to get the international fighters, all of them into the U.S., so I have a private island. I’m going to 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. … We have all our own planes and everything we’re going to fly into the island with the fighters.”
UFC 249 was originally scheduled to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson for the lightweight title. Since Nurmagoedov is on lockdown in Russia, Ferguson will fight Justin Gaethje for the interim 155-pound belt.
The UFC already has been forced to postpone three events, which followed the trend of nearly every major sports league and event globally over the coming months. These fights will also be taking place behind closed doors with no fans. White said precautions will be in place for the U.S. destination, as well as the island location.
“Everyone is going to be tested and tested and tested,” White said. “We’re going to make sure healthy athletes, healthy athletic commission people, healthy judges, referees, my production people, and everyone there is going to be healthy. We’re going to make sure everybody is going to be safe before, during and after the fights.”
