UFC 249 might be cancelled but Dana White is still pressing ahead with his private fight island plans

Dana White dropped a bombshell late on Thursday as he provided an update on UFC 249.

The fight was expected to take place on 18 April with a location in mind and some changes to the card.

Khabib Nurmagomedov was stuck in Russia and could not defend his title. Justin Gaethje took his place and was to face Tony Ferguson, but for an interim Lightweight crown instead.

However, all that has been put to a grinding halt as White confirmed to Brett Okamoto that Disney and ESPN pulled a plug on the fight.

The UFC president was adamant that everything was fine and ready to take place, but the top executives at Disney and ESPN weren’t keen on the event being held.

However, White seems to still be working on his private island for fights despite UFC 249 getting cancelled.

Okamoto asked for details on when it could be ready, and White provided a positive answer:

“Fight island is going to happen. All the infrastructure is being built right now and being put in place.

“As we get closer to that, then I’ll start figuring it out, booking fights, plus I can ship guys there earlier and they can start training on the island.

“You’re looking at like, a month. A month, and I will have put all that together.”

Nobody is getting laid off

White has constantly reminded people that no one from UFC will lose their jobs during this coronavirus pandemic.

The UFC president was again adamant that their people would be taken care off. White also said that all fighters would be paid for their matches ahead of the year and he was planning to ensure the bouts take place as soon as possible.

White also added that he was ready to go on 18 April but would respect ESPN’s decision.

It will be interesting to see how the dynamics of the fight island works out in the end. Shipping fighters to the location would be the biggest hurdle, but if anyone can pull it off, it has to be Dana White.

More UFC news

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• Chael Sonnen explains why Conor McGregor should not fight on UFC 249 card

• What happened to Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s forehead at UFC 248 against Zhang Weili?

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