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https://scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3079361/joe-rogan-admits-relief-after-ufc-249 Mixed Martial Arts
Joe Rogan admits relief after UFC 249 cancelled amid coronavirus – ‘that saves me some thinking’
- UFC commentator says he was ‘hesitant’ to call the show on April 18, which was set for casino on tribal land in California
- ‘I was leaning towards going … but my real concern was how do I know if I contract it and bring it back home?’
Conor McGregor is interviewed by UFC’s Joe Rogan during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 246. Photo: TNS
Joe Rogan was on the fence about going to UFC 249. Now that it’s finally been called off, the UFC commentator admitted he is somewhat relieved.
UFC broadcaster ESPN and its parent company Disney have pulled the plug on the April 18 show, which UFC president Dana White was pushing ahead with despite concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I was hesitant,” he said on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “My thoughts were I really want go – I was leaning towards going. But god, I don’t wanna hear it from people that don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not interested in putting myself at risk, but my real concern was how do I know if I contract it and bring it back, how am I gonna know?
“I’ve got to be honest with myself, I really wouldn’t know. But the only way I would be able to do it was to be in quarantine until I’m tested.”
White was set to host UFC 249 at the Tachi Palace, a casino on Native American tribal land outside Fresno in Northern California, which would have allowed the UFC to skirt some state coronavirus limitations.
But after a negative backlash following the leak of the location, with The New York Times reporting California governor Gavin Newsom made a call to Disney, all UFC events have been postponed indefinitely. The Tachi Palace resort was exempt from Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home order.
Rogan discovered the news in the middle of recording the latest episode of his podcast with former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub.
“F***!” he said, when his producer showed him a tweet from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto saying UFC 249 had been cancelled. “Well, that saves me a lot of f****** thinking,” he added, laughing.
“Damn, I was 75 per cent ready to go. The only thing that worried me was if I contracted something and came in contact with other people. If I definitely could get tested … and then I’d have to know results before I come back. Even then, you don’t know.
“I think they made probably a risk assessment and then they made a calculation of what the negative aspects of going against government regulations would be, that they probably can’t do this. ”