Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Manager Ali Abdelaziz guarantees to eventually clear up speculations surrounding Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 249 withdrawal.
The current global crisis has placed UFC 249 in jeopardy of cancellation. Khabib Nurmagomedov remains stranded in Russia amid a countrywide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and won’t be able to fly to the United States in time for the April 18 fight.
“The Eagle” already expressed his disappointment about having to withdraw, and so did challenger Tony Ferguson. “El Cucuy”, however, was seemingly more affected, calling for Khabib to be stripped of the title.
Conor McGregor chimed in and sided with Ferguson, claiming his rival “scurried out of the US” to fly back home. Critics have piled on to point fingers at the Russian fighter.
Apart from the statements they’ve released, Team Khabib promises to provide more details about their decision to pull out from the fight. This message was relayed by manager Ali Abdelaziz via Twitter.
Undisputed undefeated pound for pound king. All dogs can bark and everyone wants to make smoke.
Soon we will have all the answers you want to know. Bend the knees @TeamKhabib pic.twitter.com/s7uCWUlTLU— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) April 2, 2020
UFC 249’s scheduled fight date is in a little over two weeks’ time. As of this posting, both the venue and headliner have not yet been finalized.