If Dana White lives up to his promise and finds a way to execute UFC 249 next month, the card is sure to have a different feel than previous pay-per-views. It also will have a different sound.
Although a location hasn’t been announced for the April 18 event, which is headlined by champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson for the lightweight title, White insists it’s going to happen. Despite postponing three events due to the coronavirus outbreak, White remains steadfast on making UFC 249 happen and already has confirmed it will be a closed-door show.
If it materializes, a broadcast crew will be needed for the card. Joe Rogan’s commentary is synonymous with the UFC and he is a staple of the cageside commentary crew for numbered events. But given the global pandemic, he said he won’t be showing up for this one.
“I guess someone’s going to commentate it – it’s not gonna be me,” Rogan said on a recent episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “UFC is talking about putting on a fight on April 18. I don’t know how they’re gonna do that. I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to do that in the United States. They’re talking about doing it in a place with less than 10 people, just in an open arena.”
Despite nearly the entire sports world being shut down due to coronavirus, White said no obstacle outside a “complete government shutdown” is going to stop him from finding a venue for the event. The UFC boss is highly adversarial to the concerns surrounding the virus, but Rogan does not fall in line with that mentality.
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Rogan has hosted several experts on the subject on his podcast, and he has no shortage of questions on the obstacles the UFC faces in trying to pull off its goal.
“The thing is: How are they going to make sure nobody has it?” Rogan said. “You’re going to have to test everybody. And if someone has it, do you let them fight? What if they have it and they’re like Idris Elba and they have no symptoms, but they’ve got the corona? What if Khabib has the corona? Or what if Tony has the corona? Does Khabib even fight him?”
Rogan ultimately thinks White’s persistence in trying to bring UFC 249 to reality is somewhat out of desperation. Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson has been canceled four times in the past, and if it doesn’t happen April 18, it may never happen.
“This fight is so cursed,” Rogan said. “This is how Dana feels. This is why Dana’s trying so hard to make it happen, even if there’s only 10 people in the room.”
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