UFC 249 Card To Be Announced Today; U.S. West Coast Location Targeted

Dana White has revealed that the revised fight card for April 18th’s event will be announced later today, while confirming that lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is no longer part of the line-up.

White delivered the news while shooting down a claim for ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Nurmagomedov was going to fight Tony Ferguson in the main event after all.

“Absolutely NOT true!!!” White responded on Twitter. “The card is happening but @TeamKhabib is out. I will announce the entire card tomorrow.”

Rumors suggest that a previously touted match-up between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje is likely to be the headliner for the event.

Meanwhile, ESPN have also reported that the event is likely to take place at an as-yet-unnanounced location on the west coast of the United States.

It’s also believed that the UFC have also been considering the possibility of hosting the event on “tribal lands” if they have to.

As things stand the currently location they are homing in on could play host not to just UFC 249, but also several other events in the coming weeks.

As we’ve discussed previously, continuing to put on events despite the current restrictions and health warnings in place around the globe is likely to lead to a lot of bad publicity for the UFC as the event draws closer, but nevertheless, White is as bullish as ever about forging ahead with it.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.