UFC 249 Canceled After Dana White Was Asked To ‘Stand Down’ By Disney & ESPN Executives

UFC president Dana White was hoping to save the star-studded UFC 249 card from cancellation after the event was forced to be relocated from New York due to the spread of Coronavirus. White spoke to TMZ Sports on Monday saying he was a “day or two away” from acquiring a “private island” with the necessities to host UFC 249 and future fights amid social distancing obligations and the laws against large gatherings. The company was reportedly prepared for the April 18 event but executives at the UFC’s broadcasting partner company ESPN, and the parent company Disney, told White to “stand down.”

“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,” a UFC spokesperson said on Thursday. “UFC looks forward to resuming the full live events schedule as soon as possible.”

One of the event’s high-profile fighters Rose Namajunas had previously dropped out of her fight with Jessica Andrade after two of her family members died from coronavirus complications, her manager Brian Butler said,

“Namajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to 2 deaths in the family related to the coronavirus,” Butler said in a statement. “Her hopes are to return to the Octagon as soon as possible but for now we ask for people to respect their privacy during this time.”

Before attempting to purchase an island, the UFC had chosen the Tachi Palace Casino Resort located near Fresno, California, for the site of UFC 249. The venue chosen was on tribal land which gave the company a loophole to bypass the California State Athletic Commission’s ban on combat fighting through May 31. But California Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed “concern” about the safety of everyone involved because they could still be susceptible to the virus.

“I’m concerned by reports that Ultimate Fighting Championship plans to hold a pay-per-view event in California, in defiance of the state’s shelter-in-place order,” Feinstein said in a statement. “This event would involve dozens of individuals flying to California and driving to a casino for a purpose no one can honestly claim is essential.

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“I understand this event is scheduled to take place on tribal land and therefore is not subject to state law. However, at best this event ties up medical resources and sends a message that shelter-in-place orders can be flouted. At worst, participants and support staff could carry the virus back to their home communities and increase its spread.”

Regardless of Feinstein’s concerns, White praised the resort’s owners for “standing with me through this thing.”

“The Tachi Palace in California, the Indian reservation, has had our back this whole time, has stood their ground and was willing to do this fight. And let me tell you this: When the world gets back to normal, California, that [fight] will be at Tachi Palace,” White said.

The event’s original main event was supposed to feature undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against No. 1 lightweight contender Tony Ferguson, but Nurmagomedov refused to leave quarantine in his native Russia and Justin Gaethje was slated to fill in to fight Ferguson.