DANA WHITE HAS said that he is trying to build the “baddest card” in the history of mixed martial arts for UFC 249, despite the ongoing global pandemic.
White has already claimed that the venue for the lightweight title showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is “99.9%” confirmed, though UFC 249 will be a closed event without fans due to the threat of Covid-19, but the current crisis has forced the organisation’s president to consider other options, with additional fights possible.
“We’re building a card where people can still manoeuvre and still get in,” White told ESPN. “We’re trying to build the baddest card that’s ever been done in the history of the sport… some of the things are going to work out, and some of the things might not work out.
“We’re trying to figure out if they don’t, what do we do? Actually, Francis [Ngannou] is one of the guys we’re looking at, too. Yes, yes, yes [against Jairzinho Rozenstruik].”
More than 21,100 people have died from Covid-19 worldwide, while there have been over 468,600 confirmed cases. In the United States, casualties are nearing 1,000 as cases rise to over 65,000.
The health emergency has brought sport to a standstill, while it has led to job losses across the globe. White, however, denied a report claiming the UFC would also begin laying off a number of employees.
“Not true,” he told TMZ Sports. “Nobody’s getting laid off; it’s not going to happen.”
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