Khabib Nurmagomedov

Despite all the roadblocks that are going up to hold any type of event, on account of the coronavirus pandemic, Dana White’s still claiming that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are going to battle next month.

White insists Khabib vs. Tony will happen

As various sports leagues recently suspended operations, and many jurisdictions temporarily banned large public gatherings due to the coronavirus, White proclaimed the UFC’s upcoming cards would proceed. 

But, more recently, even more, stringent restrictions on public events and regular day-to-day operations have been enacted, in addition to some travel bans. As a result, on Monday, White confirmed that the UFC is postponing its March 21st, 28th and April 11th cards. 

But what about the crown jewel of the UFC’s upcoming schedule? The April 18th fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson? Which many believe could be the greatest lightweight fight in history?

Well, in a follow-up interview with ESPN, White made this proclamation (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“We’re postponing the next three events, but Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib [Nurmagomedov], April 18 is still on and that will still happen,” White said. “We’re going to follow these guidelines to not have more than 10 people in a room and we’re hoping this all clears up by April.”

“This fight’s going to happen,” he said. “No crowd. Whatever it takes. Probably not even going to be in the United States, but this fight’s going to happen.”

“This is what we do,” White said. “We put fights on every weekend. The fighters want to fight. The fans want to see it. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the fans and the fighters. These guys all want to continue. So we will.”

Should fans count on Khabib – Ferguson going down?

Now, since there’s no doubt that Nurmagomedov – Ferguson is a massive fight, you know the UFC will go the extra mile to make it happen. Especially now that its next three cards have been postponed.

But, if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t slow down in the short term, one would think the UFC will be in tough putting this together. Especially if additional travel bans are enacted. There will also be widespread concern regarding everyone’s health who needs to travel to the fight’s location, and the possibility of them contracting the virus en route and spreading it to others.

It’s also not clear if the UFC still intends to hold the rest of the bouts scheduled for UFC 249, which would make things that much more difficult. Could the promotion look at holding it’s first-ever, one fight card?

UFC 249 was initially booked for April 18th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

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