With the coronavirus causing havoc on the sporting world, the UFC was forced to cancel their next three events, which means the next event on the schedule is UFC 249: Nurmagomedov vs Ferguson.  Dana White did everything he could to allow the UFC’s events to proceed while all other sports leagues were shutting down, but ultimately COVID-19 won out and the UFC had to cancel the three events.  Dana’s attention now turns to the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson fight that the MMA world has been needing for the past five years. Dana is adamant that the fight is going to happen.

 

Khabib vs Tony has been booked four times already over the past five years, and now it’s in jeopardy once again.  Both guys have won 12 straight fights in the UFC, and the winner of this fight would have a great as the pound for pound best fighter in MMA.

Even though both fighters have won 12 straight, and you could even argue Tony’s level of competition has been the better of the two, Khabib is still a big favorite heading into the fight.

The United States top betting guide, HowToBetUSA.com, shows the odds as Khabib -250 and Ferguson +210.  Those odds imply that Khabib has about a 70% chance of winning the fight, with Tony at 30%.  You can see their full article outlining how to bet on the Khabib vs Ferguson fight here.  

The UFC has already announced that the card will not take place in Brooklyn, as initially scheduled.  But where the fight ends up taking place is anybody’s guess. There are rumblings that Abu Dhabi, where Khabib fought his last title fight, could be an option.  It seems like nothing is ruled out at this time.

Other fights on the card include Jessica Andrade vs Rose Namajunas, Uriah Hall vs Jacare Souza, Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Hernandez, and Jeremy Stephens vs Calvin Kattar.

One thing is for sure.  Dana White is going to do everything in his power to make this fight happen on April 18th.  The UFC has one month to make the arrangements, and I for one am very hopeful that the fight happens on schedule.  Khabib vs Tony would be quite the event for the sports world to return to after the coronavirus shutdowns.