The Ultimate Fighting Championship has finally raised the white flag as it cancels the upcoming UFC 249 pay-per-view event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This shocking development came just three days after Dana White announced the new line up for the re-tooled fight card and said that the MMA show will go ahead on April 18 in a private island.
In an interview with ESPN, the head honcho shared the UFC’s broadcast partner has urged the promotion to postpone the event.
“Today we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney and the highest level of ESPN,” White said.
“One thing that I’ve said since we’ve started our relationship and partnership with ESPN is that it’s been an incredible one. It’s been an amazing partnership.”
“ESPN has been very, very good to us, and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event next Saturday.”
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Fight Island
Aside from UFC 249, all upcoming UFC shows have been postponed indefinitely, with White saying the competition could return in a month.
“That’s why I’m telling all of my guys not to worry because Fight Island is going to happen. It’s obviously still being, all of the infrastructure is being built right now, getting put in place,” the UFC president said.
“As we get closer to that, then I’ll start figuring out booking fights, getting guys ready. Plus I can ship guys over there earlier and they can start training over there on the island.
“So once that’s all in place, you’re looking at like a month. A month I’ll have that all put together and guys can start training and can go there.”
“I’m sure people are going to be ready to get out of their houses in another month and go to an island somewhere and train. So it’s all coming together, it’s all going to happen.”
“I could go next week but this is what it is, I’ll see you in a month.”
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Returning Soon
Following White’s announcement, the Nevada-based promotion released a statement on the cancellation of UFC 249 and other MMA events.
“While the organization was fully prepared to proceed with UFC 249, ESPN has requested the postponement of the event and subsequent bouts until further notice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. UFC looks forward to resuming the full live events schedule as soon as possible.”
What do you think of the UFC’s decision to cancel UFC 249?
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