John Locher/Associated Press
With the coronavirus tightening its vice grip on the whole of humanity, we’re all re-learning that there are some things we simply can't outrun. That applies in its own way to the tiny world of mixed martial arts, where Dana White and his quest to stage UFC 249 next month are running out of road.
The UFC president suffered another setback Monday in his increasingly quixotic-looking pledge to hold UFC 249 on its originally scheduled date of April 18. It was originally set to take place in Brooklyn, New York until fate intervened, setting off a mad scramble that took another blow when lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov indicated that travel restrictions in his native Russia will likely prevent him from defending his 155-pound strap against Tony Ferguson in the card’s main event.