“Why Should I Fly to America?”- Khabib Nurmagomedov Puts the Final Nail in the Coffin for UFC 249

Around two years back, Dana White announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson was cancelled for the fourth time. Back then, Dana had put his foot down and said that he was done with Khabib vs Tony. But later on, Dana decided to overturn it for the sake of business.

Until now, it was an injury, a lung infection, a bad weight cut and a poorly placed broadcasting cable that had prevented the fight from materializing. This time around everyone felt that the stars have aligned in the favour of the fight. But then Coronavirus arrived on the scene. The pandemic single-handedly put a halt to all sporting events.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently in Russia. The authorities have locked down the borders. The outbreak of Coronavirus is not showing signs of slowing down in most parts of the world. Khabib announced that he wouldn’t be able to fight at UFC 249. The Lightweight kingpin added that the event may go on ‘with or without him’.

It didn’t take long for the fans to pounce upon the Dagestani. Some of them branded him as a “coward” who is running from a challenge. In an Instagram live video, Khabib explained his side of the story.

“Some people have been asking me where the fight will happen. That’s a good question that I have no answer to since 10th March. Some say I should fly out – I ask them where should I fly out to? To America? There’s no event there. To Abu Dhabi? There’s no event there. Europe? Also no event there. Russia isn’t hosting an event right now so where should I fly out to?”

“Add me in” – Conor McGregor drops by in the live video of Khabib Nurmagomedov

While Khabib was just starting his video, his former rival dropped by in it. He wrote the message “Add me in”. However, the Dagestani ignored the message. It wasn’t clear if the message had met his eyes or not.

Conor has been very vocal about the outbreak of Coronavirus. Earlier today, he took to Twitter stating that he was glad that he didn’t have a fight lined up during these times. Otherwise, he would have forced himself into fighting, unlike Khabib.

Meanwhile, Khabib in the video explained that he had been training for the fight since December. His words seem to come from a fighter that was being devoid of doing what he does best.

“Guys since the end of December I have been battle-ready. I’m training day and night, mentally and physically. Day and night I’m sparring, running, doing CrossFit, lifting weights, doing grappling, wrestling.

Video credits: RT Sport

I flew out to America with my whole team. We worked our asses off. When everything shut down, we flew out to Abu Dhabi. Nothing happened in Abu Dhabi so we flew out to Dagestan and we’re training here.”

In all honesty, the situations that the UFC and the world are facing right now is unprecedented. There are no fixed guidelines as to what is to be done. Dana is trying to make the fight. On the other hand, Khabib, while having a deep desire to fight, is rightly concerned about his safety too.