6:03 PM ET UFC 249 will not proceed on April 18, despite Dana White’s efforts to move forward with the pay-per-view event, the UFC president told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Thursday. “Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN … and the powers
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Joe Rogan (Photo credit: Joe Rogan Experience, YouTube) Joe Rogan was hesitant to commentate UFC 249 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was unsure if he would even be there. He said he was doubtful to commentate it but Dana White quickly said Rogan would be there. Now, he doesn’t have to decide as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, has made a career out of steamrolling the people who need him. Fighters need his favor to compete for UFC — widely recognized as the top of the combat sports food chain — and media members not working for broadcast partner ESPN need his blessing to obtain a
UFC superstar Conor McGregor continues to press the Irish government to close all its ports. Even as UFC President Dana White had been trying to get his fight promotion back in business, his biggest star has been shouting from the rooftops to shelter in place and close the borders, particularly in his home country of
Image via @bellatormma on Instagram Current Bellator women’s featherweight champion and mixed martial arts legend Cris Cyborg is not impressed with how the UFC handled Tony Ferguson. The former UFC featherweight champion, Cyborg, had jumped ship over to Bellator earlier this year and quickly took home the promotions 145lbs title. While Justino has had nothing
8:32 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi Despite the UFC pulling out all the spots to try and make it happen, UFC 249 will no longer happen April 18. On Thursday, UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s
UFC 249 will not be taking place on April 18. UFC president Dana White had been adamant about running the event on its planned date. While it appeared that nothing would change the UFC boss’ mind, in came a call from the higher-ups at Disney and ESPN. White’s hand has finally been forced. UFC 249
Welcome to Midnight Mania! For much of the previous month, the MMA world has been trapped in their homes, watching little else but the rise and fall of UFC 249. As more and more sporting events were cancelled, UFC 249 looked less and less likely. Then, UFC President Dana White came out with a new
UFC president Dana White announced on Thursday that UFC 249 has been postponed along with all other events due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The event was scheduled for April 18 at Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, California. Shortly after the breaking news, fighter reactions started pouring in via social media. A statement on #UFC249:
Image: Daniel Cormier on Instagram Former two-division UFC champ Daniel Cormier is willing to undertake commentary duty for upcoming UFC events — provided certain conditions are met. The UFC schedule has been massively affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While most sports organizations have closed up shop, however, UFC president Dana White has taken a
9:00 AM ET “We literally met with every network, every sports network — from the big broadcasters, NBC, ABC, CBS, the obvious, ESPN — multiple times,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, the CEO of the UFC in 2004. “Met with anybody that would take a meeting. We couldn’t get anybody to bite because everybody was very concerned
Image Credit: MMAFighting Josh Thomson isn’t a fan of Dana White pushing through with UFC cards in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. UFC 249 is on target for April 18. White says the event will be held inside a venue that the UFC has under wraps for two months. While White hasn’t disclosed the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title contender Francis Ngannou is on a mission to capture the 265-pound crown, but won’t consider his combat sports career to be complete until he also crosses over to the “sweet science.” And before all the naysayers accuse him of jumping on the boxing bandwagon, thanks to the resurgence of
With coronavirus precautions forcing the cancellation of many MMA events, among the hardest hit was the LFA. Originally scheduled to hold events on March 20, April 3, and April 17, no fewer than 30 bouts composed of 60 fighters were wiped off the books and currently sit in limbo, waiting to see when or if
Justin Gaethje will be stepping up on short notice to battle Tony Ferguson for the UFC interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. Ferguson was originally slated to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at the event. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Eagle’ was grounded in Russia
9:24 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi The UFC is pressing forward with its UFC 249 pay-per-view event on April 18, just as the promotion’s president Dana White had promised. Of course, there have been significant changes
Image Credit: Bellator Bellator bantamweight Isaiah Chapman is dead after being shot outside his home. Reporter David McKinney first brought word that Chapman was shot and killed on the evening of April 7. The 135-pounder was killed in Akron, Ohio. While police did not release an identity, they did confirm they responded to a call
Another day, another change in main events. Jose Aldo has been forced out of his scheduled Bantamweight title fight against division king, Henry Cejudo, which was set to go down at UFC 250 on May 9, 2020 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That’s according to a report from Combate, which states that Aldo’s visa has expired