Opinion | Can Dana White pull off UFC 249’s Khabib vs Tony Ferguson fight during coronavirus lockdown?

White states the UFC has a venue, but sceptics remain: will this actually happen during such an unprecedented time?

Dubai or Saudi Arabia seem like probable destinations given government control can be bent to accommodate

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Can Dana White and the UFC pull off a fight for the history books? Photo: AP

Published: 8:00am, 27 Mar 2020Updated: 8:00am, 27 Mar 2020

If there is anyone brazen and braggadocios enough to pull off something like a major sporting event during the coronavirus crisis, right atop the list would be UFC president Dana White. He’s unapologetic, unwavering – and, to put it bluntly, he gets stuff done.

In trying to make sense of what could transpire on April 18, when White says Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov will still defend his lightweight title against Tony Ferguson, we have to cut through a lot of white noise.

White’s interview with Yahoo Sports was a declarative statement, as the UFC boss said the fight will take place in a secret location, outside New York (where it was originally scheduled) and outside the US entirely. Social media has been flooded with memes touting potential sites – Russia, Mexico, Shanghai, international waters, outer space, a parallel universe and a hermetically sealed bubble.

Amid all the chatter, rumours, PR spin and water cooler gossip, if this fight does go down, it could be the most watched pay-per-view fight of all-time. Not only will morbid curiosity pull in average viewers who would normally not even tune in, but White and company will have the world’s unbridled attention for a brief, fleeting moment.

Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson in a ‘closed door’ fight? Is this madness or brilliant? Photo: Jeff Botari/Zuffa LLC

Most of us here on planet earth literally have nothing better to do than watch a pay-per-view MMA fight because of social isolation directives in our respective countries, meaning this event’s financial haul could be record breaking.