UFC 249 fight in Brooklyn canceled amid coronavirus pandemic: report

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The heavily anticipated UFC 249 fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will have to find a new arena after the New York State Athletic Commission announced Wednesday it was canceling the event in light of the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.

The commission issued a statement to The New York Times confirming that the April 18 fight will no longer take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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“Out of an abundance of caution and in line with recent guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and New York State, the New York State Athletic Commission informed the UFC that UFC 249 cannot be held in New York,” the statement read.

News of the cancelation comes just days after UFC President Dana White committed that “this fight’s going to happen.”

“We’re gonna follow these guidelines to not have more than 10 people in a room and we’re hoping that this all clears up by April,” he told ESPN’s SportsCenter on Monday. “This fight’s going to happen, no crowd, whatever it takes. [It’s] probably not going to even be in the United States but this fight’s going to happen.”

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White said that the next three UFC events on March 21, March 28 and April 11 would be canceled in order to abide by the latest warnings from health officials to avoid gatherings larger than 10 people.

White has not publicly commented on a new event space since the New York State Athletic Commission issued its statement.