UFC president Dana White is confident UFC 249 will go on as planned, and a new report says the event could take place in Florida.
On Monday, White said that UFC 249 was still a go for April 18 with a lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and top contender Tony Ferguson. White also said that the event will feature a full undercard. White said that he has a home for the event but is not ready to release that to the public. We now have an idea of where that may be.
According to MMAFighting.com’s Steven Marrocco, the UFC is in negotiations to hold UFC 249 in Florida, with Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville all potential host cities. If UFC 249 goes on like White says it will, there will be no crowd in attendance.
Industry source just told me UFC in active talks to hold UFC 249 in Florida using same setup as Combat Night event. Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville mentioned as potential hosts.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) March 24, 2020
I’m sure the promotion is having multiple convos with multiple hosts, but add this one to list of possibilities.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) March 24, 2020
Industry source just told me UFC in active talks to hold UFC 249 in Florida using same setup as Combat Night event. Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville mentioned as potential hosts.
I’m sure the promotion is having multiple convos with multiple hosts, but add this one to list of possibilities.
While the rest of the sports world is in indefinite hiatus, White has remained defiant and continues to try and keep the UFC going amidst the coronavirus outbreak that has caused nearly every other sporting event to come to a halt. There are very few states in the United States that are willing to host MMA events right now, but Florida is one of them, and that’s why UFC 249 could take place there.
Last weekend, the Combat Night promotion held an event in Jacksonville that featured former UFC fighter Nick Roehrick in the main event. That’s why the UFC is looking at UFC 249 to take place in Florida. But at this point, it’s still a wait-and-see approach.
Are you excited to watch UFC 249 amidst everything going on in the world?