Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is waiting in anticipation for UFC president Dana White to reveal the new location for UFC 249.
After postponing cards in London, Columbus and Portland White assured fight fans UFC 249 would go ahead at all costs. Speaking to Sportcenter while breaking the unfortunate news, he said.
“Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib, April 18, is still on and will still happen. We’re going to follow these guidelines to not have more than ten people in a row. We’re hoping that this all clears up by April. This fight’s going to happen. No crowd. Whatever it takes. Probably not even going to happen in the United States but this fight’s going to happen.”
Both main event fighters clearly have great faith in their boss being able to pull this card off. Tony Ferguson posted a video of him still going hard in training just yesterday.
Now, Nurmagomedov has told fans he expects to get a new location for the fight in the next two days. Speaking on Ali Abdelaziz’s Instagram live, he said.
“This is a very important fight. We have to fight Tony Ferguson, and we have to know who the next contender is. I talk with Dana yesterday. Next couple days, Dana is going to send us location. (Via Brett Okamoto – ESPN)
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of Khabib, recently suggested Dubai as a potential host location for his son’s upcoming fight. It may take somewhere like Dubai with limited exposure to COVID-19 to make this fight happen.
Nurmagomedov is the undefeated and undisputed lightweight champion with a perfect 28-0 record. The 31-year-old Russian has 12 wins inside the octagon and has beaten the likes of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Ferguson is riding a 12-fight win streak inside the UFC. The former interim champion has back-to-back TKO wins over former champion Anthony Pettis and veteran fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Where do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson takes place?