UFC postpones next three events due to coronavirus but Dana White insists Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson fight will go ahead
The UFC has postponed three upcoming events due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Dana White insists Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson will still happen.
The deadly disease has infected more than 180,000 people worldwide, with the death toll exceeding 7,000.
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were originally set to square off in New York on April 18.
However, UFC president White admits the mega fight could now take place outside the US.
He told : “We’re going to follow these guidelines to not have more than ten people in a room and we’re hoping this clears up by April. This fight is going to happen.
“Crowd, whatever it takes. It's probably not going to be in the United States, but this fight will happen.
“Listen this is what we do, we put fights on every weekend. The fans want to see it, the fighters want to fight.
“I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the fighters, These guys all want to continue.
“Obviously we’ve had some blowback from the media that covers us. We’re going to continue on.
“These three fights postponed, they will still happen and Khabib-Tony is on for the original date.”
The UFC has been criticised for continuing with its events while most other sports shut down.
UFC Fight Night 170 took place in Brazil on Saturday, with Charles Oliveira beating Kevin Lee via submission.
But White says the next three events, which were due to happen on March 21, 28 and April 11, have now been postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He added: “We were ready to go live on ESPN on Saturday night from FireLake Arena, an Indian reservation in Oklahoma city.
“We have the card, we have the fighters, we have everything.
“But obviously the President has just spoken to the country. It started at 50 people in a room, which made it difficult so we complied.
“We took the fans out and made sure there was as few production people in the room as possible - we pulled that off last Saturday.
“Now they’re saying to be no more than ten in a room and that’s just impossible. We can’t do it. We’ve complied with everything the government and doctors have said to do.
“We’re postponing the next three events, but Tony Ferguson vs Khabib, April 18, is still on and that will still happen.”