By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
If you thought Dana White pulling of a magic trick like getting Conor McGregor to act civil, polite and cordial in public before a UFC fight event was neat a month ago, wait until you see what the UFC ringmaster has in store for UFC 249 on April 18.
With nearly all of the sports world shut down in the face of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Americans, the hard-driving, brash White said it’s all systems go for UFC’s fight event a week from Saturday minus undefeated lightweight Russian star Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The 31-year Nurmagomedov was originally slated to fight Tony Ferguson. But with the Russian out because he can’t leave his homeland amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Gaethje came off the bench and will fight the colorful Ferguson for the interim lightweight championship.
Just one thing is missing: the location of UFC 249.
White tweeted Monday, saying the fight will happen “somewhere on EARTH!!!!”
White is soldiering on with UFC 249 while the National Hockey League paused its season, the National Basketball Association has put its season on hold and Major League Baseball has not issued a date to start its season. International events like the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan and Wimbledon have been cancelled.
At a time when Americans are advised by local, state and federal governments to stay at home, self-isolate, maintain social distancing, wear face covers and only go outside to shop for food and medicines, White has said that he’s in the fight business and the fights might go on. As of Monday, there have been 1,953 COVID-19 cases in Nevada, with 58 people losing their lives.
UFC fights can be bloody and the skin-to-skin contact is intense when the fighters are grappling in the octagon-shaped cage. There will be no fans at UFC 249. Here are scenes from MMA fights at the Dana White’s Contender Series staged last year at the UFC APEX building next to the UFC headquarters off the 215 beltway in the southwest Las Vegas valley.
White and UFC have a saying that fighting is in the human being’s DNA.
So is wanting to survive.
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