The UFC is aiming to hold UFC 249 despite the coronavirus pandemic, so there were naturally some questions about whether the promotion would be testing its fighters for COVID-19.
Predictably, UFC president Dana White is not willing to discuss what steps the company is taking to ensure its athletes are safe when they enter the cage.
However, he assures us all that he is taking care of the employees and fighters.
“Health and safety isn’t something that just popped up on our radar with the coronavirus, it’s something we deal with every week, for the last 20 years,” White said, via Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. “We will make sure that…we will take care of everybody just like we always do. I’m not giving the public and the media all kinds of information on what we do. The less the media knows, the better. … Let me just put it to you this way. A lot of this hysteria, and all this stuff that’s gone on has been driven by the media. And the less the media knows, the better off it is.
“You’ve known me for a very long time, and all of my employees that work for me, you know. When my fighters are with me and my people are with me, they’re getting the best medical attention they could possibly get. If they were alone, or they were at home, or they worked for someone else, everybody who’s with me is going to get the best medical attention possible. The less the media and the public know…you guys…when I say you guys, take that whatever. You don’t need to know. It’s none of your business.”
UFC 249’s exact location has not been publicly announced.
UFC 249: Fight Time & Viewing Details
Event: UFC 249: Khabib vs. Ferguson
Date: TBD
Location: TBD
Venue: TBD
Main Card Card Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+
UFC 249 Fight Card
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9X-RXInU2p/
- Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson – for lightweight title
- Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Souza
- Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
- Ben Rothwell vs. Gian Villante
- Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. TBA
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Karl Roberson
- Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
- Hunter Azure vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Islam Makhachev
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
