The leadership of the Absolute Fighting Championship continues to look for options for organizing its largest tournament in the first half of 2020. Due to the threat of coronavirus, the promotion has already postponed several events of the Fight Night series indefinitely, but is still determined to hold UFC 249 on time, in the main match of which Habib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson should meet on April 18. For the sake of this, Dana White and the company are ready to sacrifice not only the profit from the sale of tickets and to conduct a battle without spectators. According to the president of the organization, the battle for the lightweight title may well take place outside the United States.
The head of the UFC expressed hope that by April the situation around the coronavirus will improve, as a result of which the promotion will not have to go to desperate measures. But at the moment, everything goes to the fact that the championship will not be able to avoid enormous problems and will be forced to abandon the show in the United States. On paper, this may entail the loss of part of the American audience due to the time difference, but in the current realities, MMA fans will probably be ready to watch it at any time.
The motivation by all means to arrange the UFC 249 is extremely clear. In the absence of competition, the tournament with the participation of Nurmagomedov and Ferguson has the right to rely not only on colossal, but on record performance. If earlier it was perceived as the most striking event of several months in mixed martial arts, now it may well be completely unique. Any self-respecting fan will find time to watch this confrontation, and the number of sold broadcasts may well exceed the treasured three million. In this case, the initiative will fully pay off, and White will not regret that he did his best to postpone the event.
At the same time, the assumption has already appeared in the world of MMA that the United Arab Emirates may become the venue for the tournament. This was stated by the father of the current UFC lightweight champion Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
“Most likely it will be Dubai. Firstly, it’s easier to fight diseases because of the heat. And I think the Emirates will pay for the UFC fight faster and easier. Fighting in Russia is ruled out, ”Nurmagomedov senior RBC quotes.
In the words of the father and mentor of the current champion there is a certain logic. Currently, there are only 98 cases of coronavirus infection in the country, which is a good indicator compared to other countries. Therefore, the health of athletes will be in relative safety, and this should be one of the main criteria when choosing a place. In addition, the battles will take place at a comfortable time for the American audience, which the UFC will certainly take into account. Of course, the fights will take place not in prime time, but in the daytime.
An important factor is that the UAE already has experience in hosting major UFC tournaments. Suffice it to recall that in September 2019, a show took place in Abu Dhabi, in the main duel of which Nurmagomedov and Dustin Porrier met. Given the popularity of Habib in Islamic countries, moving the show to the Emirates seems like a logical decision. And the presence in the card of Islam Makhachev, Magomed Ankalaev, Umar Nurmagomedov and Shamil Abdurahimov will only raise the level of excitement around him.
Also, do not exclude the possibility that the UFC may transfer the tournament to another country. On March 17, the UAE stopped issuing visas due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus, and it is likely that the situation will not improve in a month. In view of this, the promotion may consider other options. As potential candidates, it is worth considering states with a relatively positive situation in the spread of infection, as well as with rich experience in holding a championship show.
Thus, one of the possible places is New Zealand. Currently, the number of people infected with coronavirus there is only 12 people, which is one of the best indicators on the planet. It should not be ruled out that the promotion will even get the opportunity to fill the stands, which may become a key factor in making a decision.
As for experience, over the past six years in New Zealand, three events have been held under the auspices of the Absolute Fighting Championship, but all of them did not differ in scale. Three shows of the Fight Night series took place in Auckland, and the number of fans only once exceeded 10 thousand. This happened on February 23, 2020, when the attention of fans was attracted by a duel of lightweights Dan Hooker and Paul Felder.
Another candidate can safely be called Mexico. The number of infected here is much higher and is 82 people, but this is offset by the experience of organizing major tournaments. Throughout history, six shows have taken place in the country, two of which are PPV categories. In November 2014, UFC 180 was held here, in the main event of which Fabrizio Werdum defeated Marc Hunt and won the temporary heavyweight title, and in June 2015, the same Brazilian took the absolute champion title, having dealt with Kane Velazquez.
Despite the fact that Abdulmanap himself spoke quite unequivocally regarding the transfer of the battle to Russia, it is not worth putting an end to this option. The number of coronavirus infected here is less than in the UAE (93), and sporting events continue to be held. At the weekend in eight cities of the country the matches of the Russian football championship were held, and in Rostov-on-Don 30 thousand fans gathered in the stands.