UFC 249 will not proceed on April 18, despite Dana White's efforts to move forward with the pay-per-view event, the UFC president told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Thursday.
White also said all other UFC events have been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN ... and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event on Saturday," White said.
UFC 249 was scheduled to air on ESPN+. ESPN has a five-year contract as the exclusive home of UFC fights on its networks and pay-per-view services.
On Monday, White told ESPN he had secured a location in the U.S. to host weekly fights for at least the next two months. He told ESPN on Thursday that he was "ready to go" at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Fresno, California.
White said he will bring a big fight to the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in the future
The pay-per-view event was to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight involving Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. A likely heavyweight title eliminator between Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik also was on the 12-fight card.
The co-main event between former UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade already had been called off after Namajunas withdrew due to two coronavirus-related deaths in her family, her agent said.
Before UFC 249 was called off, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) released a statement Thursday saying she was "concerned" about the event taking place at the casino.
"This event would involve dozens of individuals flying to California and driving to a casino for a purpose no one can honestly claim is essential," Feinstein said in her statement. "I understand this event is scheduled to take place on tribal land and therefore is not subject to state law. However, at best this event ties up medical resources and sends a message that shelter-in-place orders can be flouted.
"At worst, participants and support staff could carry the virus back to their home communities and increase its spread."
The UFC was forced to postpone three events, on March 21, March 28 and April 11, because of the coronavirus.
In addition to the U.S. site, White said earlier this week that he had secured a private island, where he could conceivably book fights for international athletes who can't come into the United States.
"So when we do this fight April 18, international and in the United States, we're going to start cranking," White said Tuesday. "The UFC will be back up and running, internationally and here in the States."
UFC 249 event was supposed to feature undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against Ferguson. However, Nurmagomedov was removed from the event when it became clear he would have trouble leaving his native Dagestan and reentering the U.S., where he had held some of his camp.
Read Again Brow https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmVzcG4uY29tL21tYS9zdG9yeS9fL2lkLzI5MDE4MzM5L2RhbmEtd2hpdGUtc2F5cy11ZmMtMjQ5LW5vdC1oYXBwZW4tYXByaWwtMTjSAWVodHRwczovL3d3dy5lc3BuLmNvbS9tbWEvc3RvcnkvXy9pZC8yOTAxODMzOS9kYW5hLXdoaXRlLXNheXMtdWZjLTI0OS1ub3QtaGFwcGVuLWFwcmlsLTE4P3BsYXRmb3JtPWFtcA?oc=5Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Dana White says UFC 249 will not happen April 18 - ESPN"
Post a Comment