Is the Coronavirus Putting UFC 249 Under Threat?

With UFC 249 inbound and one of the most enormous fixtures, Tony vs. Khabib at its headline, the UFC certainly does not want anything to go wrong.

Unfortunately, the deadly Coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, has gripped the entire planet. New cases of the pandemic are emerging from all around the globe by the minute.

The USA, home of the UFC, is a region most drastically affected by the virus. As of Monday, 26 deaths have been reported, with confirmed cases spanning at least 20 states.

How does an organization with fighters and teams coming in from around the world handle such a situation?

Dana White finally threw some light on the preventive measures taken to beat the coronavirus.

He said, “When it comes to the safety of the athletes and the fans and everything else, no matter where we go, what we do, we are always concerned with that. We’ve been thinking about this for weeks. Dr. Davidon’s been involved. Yeah, I don’t know what else to say other than that.”

How will the Coronavirus impact UFC 249?

Well, when the President of the UFC says that everything has been taken care of, one just can’t doubt it. Yet, organizing one of the biggest events in UFC history amidst the outbreak is a whole different ball-game.

UFC 249 is the next major event that the UFC will organize. The main event of UFC 249 will be one that the UFC universe will cherish forever.

Two of the most elite Lightweights ever, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will be locking horns for the first time. The event will garner a huge amount of popularity and is even capable of beating the record for the most-watched fight.

A fight between the two has been in the offing for quite some while now but kept getting canceled due to injuries on either side.

Yet again, the magnitude of seriousness revolving around the coronavirus might just cause a hurdle in the way of materializing the huge event. A crowd that massive is something that every single person will want to run away from with the disease on the loose.

Moreover, the event is set to be held in Brooklyn, New York, a region that has been showing a constant rise in the number of Coronavirus cases. Over 25 new cases have emerged in just one day’s time.

The USA is currently facing a lot of events being postponed or canceled due to the widespread illness, including concerts by top-notch artists.

Events across all sports have either been postponed or canceled owing to the spread of coronavirus. To name a few, the Indian Welham, an unofficial Grand Slam, has been canceled. In fact, Italian authorities have imposed a nationwide lockdown, causing Serie-A to come to a halt.

UFC 249 will not be canceled: Dana White

Yet, Dana White seems confident of his team’s efforts of making sure that the disease does not interfere with the event. When asked about whether the event will take place or not, he firmly said,

“We’re not canceling the event.” 

Well, we do hope that Dana fully understands what he’s up against.

UFC 249 is one of the most anticipated events in UFC history. We surely wouldn’t want anything to turn it into one of the biggest blunders of the company.

Do you think UFC 249 should be held under such bizarre conditions?