FILE – Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov gives a press conference in Moscow on November 26, 2018. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
UFC president Dana White reaffirmed that UFC 249, featuring lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson in the main event, is pushing through on April 18.
White said the event will take place in an empty venue, though, he has yet to disclose the location.
The fight was supposed to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York but that was before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shut down sports all over the world which included the indefinite suspension of the NBA and just very recently the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.
“How many times do I got to say this is happening? Khabib-Tony is on. April 18. It’s happening,” ” White told Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole on Instagram Live on Monday.
“There aren’t going to be any fans there,” White said. “This thing is going to be a closed event. Everybody who is going to be involved in this thing is going to be involved because they want to be involved.”
The UFC had already held an event behind closed door at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil on March 14 just a week after staging UFC 248, which drew a crowd of more than 15,000 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The American promotion company, however, canceled its next three events after Brazil due to virus concerns.