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Ben Askren is begging Dana White not to cancel UFC 249.
Coronavirus or no coronavirus, just about everyone wants to see Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson.
Although the bout is in serious jeopardy following the New York State Athletic Commission’s (NYSAC) decision to pull the plug on UFC 249, former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren has urged the UFC to do everything in their power to make this fight happen.
If — and that’s a big if — UFC 249 does go ahead, Askren believes the UFC would be better off hosting Khabib vs. Ferguson in the US despite rumored plans to move the event to the United Arab Emirates.
‘Funky’s’ plan? Cancel the undercard and remove all judges from the arena.
“The one thing I said last night was, let’s not get greedy, Dana, let’s make this really simple,” Askren told Submission Radio in a recent interview (h/t Abhinav Kini of The Body Lock MMA). “All we need is Tony and Khabib, we don’t need an F’ing undercard. So, in America they’re doing ten people maximum, you can’t have more than ten people in a group.
“So, you’ve got Tony, Khabib, three judges. But, you could also have the judges be remote. So, you don’t actually have to have them there. Your referee, you have Dana, you have Bruce Buffer and you have Joe Rogan maybe. Maybe we take the judges out and make the judges remote at a remote location and we give them each two coaches or something, or one coach. I think there’s a way to do it to keep it under ten people and broadcast it.
“It’s awesome. Please, please don’t cancel it.”
While having remote judges and cancelling the undercard is a nice idea, Askren isn’t taking into consideration the numerous doctors, cameramen and other professionals the UFC would need to hire for an event of this magnitude. The UFC’s best bet, therefore, would be to relocate overseas.
As of writing, UFC 249: Khabib vs. Ferguson is scheduled to take place on April 18 at a location and venue TBA.