UFC 249 to take place at California casino

Event to be held at the Tachi Palace Resort Casino but behind closed doors.

US.- UFC 249 is set to take place at the Tachi Palace Resort Casino in California next weekend after the franchise found a suitable venue to host the event in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The mixed martial arts franchise Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will host the highly anticipated event in the Lemoore-based casino but behind-closed-doors with no fans in attendance.

UFC President Dana White told ESPN cameras on Monday: “This place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights out.”

White has come under much criticism for trying to host the event amidst the global Coronavirus pandemic when almost all global sport has been cancelled or postponed to a later date.

And UFC 249 was originally set to take place in Brooklyn, New York but the state is currently the epicentre for the virus in the US.

Instead, the rearranged event will take place at the tribal casino in California, which has been closed since mid-March.

In holding the event on tribal land, the UFC does not need to comply with California’s executive order mandating that people stay at home.

Earlier this year, California tribes pushed for sports betting to be legalised in the state but since the pandemic nothing has materialised.

The fights on the card also do not need to be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission, which regulates mixed martial arts events in the state.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were originally scheduled to headline the UFC 249, but the Russian flew back home before borders were locked down. Instead, Ferguson is scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje.