UFC 249 finally has a location amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the New York Times, the event scheduled for April 18 will take place on tribal land in California. The exact location is the Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Lemoore, California. The news was first reported by Jeff Sherwood.
For those who remember, the Tachi Palace Casino Resort was where many of the WEC’s early cards were hosted.
And because the venue — although closed as of March 20 — is on land belonging to the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, it is not subject to California’s executive order mandating that people stay home. In addition, it does not need to be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission.
UFC 249 is set to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. The original headliner was a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ferguson.
The irony of the situation is Nurmagomedov — currently stuck in Russia due to a cross-border travel ban — was training in American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose which was just a three-hour drive from the new location.
Either way, we have a location for now.
What do you make of this news? And do you think UFC 249 will still go ahead with just under two weeks to go?