The UFC is the last sports entity standing in the United States because of COVID-19, with UFC 249 still scheduled to move forward on April 18. Even though UFC president Dana White has received constant criticism for continuing the event, he's remained steadfast that nothing will prevent the show from going on, not even a global pandemic.
One person who feels that White has gone too far to keep the UFC train chugging along is legendary promoter of Top Rank Boxing, Bob Arum, who suggests that White should be "ashamed of himself" for putting fighters at risk by pressing forward with UFC 249.
“What’s going on in this country and the world with this virus, the last thing we need is for an event to take place with no spectators just to get the event to take place,” Arum said on CBS Sports’ “State of Combat” podcast. “But the truth is that Dana White is somebody with a flawed intelligence.”
UFC 249 was set to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., with the highly anticipated main event of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov battling Tony Ferguson. Due to the conronavirus pandemic, the show won't be taking place in New York, and the site is still being determined. To add to the chaos, Nurmagomedov flew back to his native Russia and is stuck in the country for the foreseeable future due to a travel ban, once again putting the cursed fight in jeopardy.
As White trudges on, Arum canceled the remainder of his events in March and recently postponed his slate through the end of May. The 88-year-old promoter isn't sure when he will be putting on shows. Instead, he will wait until the coronavirus slows down and then start announcing plans for when shows will resume.
“People ask me what plans I’m making for these fights when we will get the all-clear," Arum said. "Because I don’t know when the all-clear is going to be and I have no idea whether it will be two months, three months or even the rest of the year, I’m not making any plans right now. When this thing looks like it’s clearing up, we will start making plans.”