Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White has confirmed Justin Gaethje will replace Khabib Nurmagomedov in the headlining fight of UFC 249.
Gaethje, 31, will fill the void left by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was originally scheduled to defend his lightweight championship against Tony Ferguson in a clash dubbed as the most anticipated fight in UFC history.
Coming off three-straight wins, ‘The Highlight’ has been campaigning for a money fight against Conor McGregor but has now earned his shot at a UFC gold as he will fight Ferguson on short notice for the interim title.
On Monday, the outspoken UFC head honcho made the official announcement on social media, saying the April 18 fight card will take place ‘somewhere on earth.’
“The fight is signed and is 100% ON LIVE on ESPN somewhere on EARTH!!!! Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje is LIVE on ESPN + PPV April 18th for the interim lightweight belt!” White wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/1247244231778775041
Stranded
Last week, Nurmagomedov confirmed he is out of the UFC 249 main event fight against Ferguson as he is currently stranded in his home country, Russia, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Currently, I am in Dagestan and I am training and preparing every day, although I don’t know what am I preparing for, because after we came to Russia we also learned that the borders are going to be locked,” Khabib said.
“Same as the States, same in Europe, Emirates – everywhere. The whole world is in quarantine right now.”
“So now I am hearing that they are looking to organise it with or without me. OK, go ahead.”
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Sunday that the UFC has reached a travel agreement with Russian president Vladimir Putin but White was quick to dismissed the report, saying the pay-per-view event will go as scheduled without ‘The Eagle.’
Dana White confirms Khabib is OUT of UFC 249 – but the event WILL take place https://t.co/nmY7hORCNM
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) April 6, 2020
Very Upset
With the matchup shelved for the fifth time, Ferguson said Khabib should be stripped of his lightweight strap for ‘running away’ from the title bout.
“I was very upset, I feel more for everybody else that was going through some hard times,” Ferguson told Helwani.
“I’m, of course, a little bit pissed.”
“He was in Abu Dhabi, he had the chance to come back here before the borders were closed in Russia. He decided to go back to Dagestan, didn’t finish his camp.”
“The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared. He’s running. He should be stripped of his title.”
“Khabib’s a bitch”: Tony Ferguson reacts to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 249 withdrawal | https://t.co/hHnNiDoRVD pic.twitter.com/4eu4M8Gh8d
— TheMacLife (@Maclifeofficial) April 1, 2020
(Featured Image Source: YouTube/ UFC and Twitter/ BJPenn.com)