- ‘There’s a lot of creepy people out there, and when they find out the location they start making phone calls,’ says White
- UFC president says there will be drug testing and an athletic commission – ‘the whole deal, just like a normal event’
Dana White may have finally confirmed a location for UFC 249, but that doesn't mean he's going to reveal it.
The UFC president confirmed the endangered April 18 event is officially on, with Justin Gaethje stepping in to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title. Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is stranded in his native Russia where the borders are closed.
Originally set for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the UFC had to scramble for a new venue amid the escalation of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US. Abu Dhabi was strongly touted " hence why Nurmagomedov left his San Jose, California training camp to fly there, before being sent back to Russia.
But now it's back on in the US, reportedly at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Northern California on Native American land (where the state's commission has no control), though White isn't confirming anything.
"It doesn't matter where it's happening because nobody can go anyway, nobody can show up," White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "Some members of the media have reached out to me that want to go. I'll bring them, but other than that it's not open to the fans. It's on ESPN. That's all anybody needs to know.
"There's a lot of creepy people out there, you know, and when they find out the location they start attacking the location and making phone calls, so this keeps the creeps at bay."
McGregor the odd man out in UFC 249 shake-up
White pointed to the UFC Brasilia last month, where the company held a Fight Night card in an empty Nilson Nelson Gymnasium.
"So we pulled this event off in Brazil. It went off without a hitch, with 50 people, we worked it out to get less people," he said. "Health and safety is a thing we worry about all the time, not just during the coronavirus.
"We're gonna do everything above and beyond to make sure everybody's safe, just like always. A lot of things will be different " my staff, the cornermen, the family members that go to the events, the list goes on and on."
White said there would be drug testing " "the whole deal, just like a normal event" " and an athletic commission overseeing it.
"Anybody who shows up for this event and is a part of it will be safer than anybody who's sitting home in their house," White said. "They're gonna have access to the best medical attention, the best treatment you could possibly get. You're safer being at this event with me than going to the grocery store.
"I'm ready to get back. I think a lot of other people are," he added. "Right now we need leadership, people who will go out and find solutions. Hiding in your house is not an answer. But I get it.
"We followed everything the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has said, but at what point do we start to get back to normal? Keep people in their house too long without entertainment and they start to lose their minds."
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