Dana White: Khabib-Ferguson will go ahead on UFC 3 video game
After weeks of uncertainty arising from the coronavirus outbreak, Dana White has confirmed the long-awaited blockbuster fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will be going ahead via the UFC 3 video game.
With sporting events being cancelled or postponed across the world due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was expected that UFC 249, to be headlined by the two number 1 and 2 lightweight fighters, would be cancelled as well.
UFC President Dana White had already confirmed that the next three UFC events were to be postponed due to the virus, but maintained the fight mixed martial arts fans have been awaiting for over two years would still be going ahead, no matter what.
Now, White has announced the fight will take place on UFC 3, a video game created by well known developer, EA Sports.
"As I stated a few days ago, the Khabib-Ferguson fight will be going ahead, regardless of that bulls*** virus that's costing me millions as we speak.
"However, we have had to make a few adjustments, because no major arena will allow us to stage the event, even behind closed doors. So, here it is: we're going to have them fight on PlayStation 4.
"Khabib and Tony will be logging in online from their own homes, so nobody gets infected, they'll be playing as their own in-game characters, and all rules will be the same as if it were at the Barclays Center in New York. Five rounds, five minutes per round, and they'll be watched by UFC officials to make sure they're not cheating.
"There will still be a pre-fight weigh-in to make sure they're in fighting shape and we'll still use official judges to score the fight, rather than the in-game judges.
"We had to cancel the rest of the fights because not everybody on the card has a character on UFC 3, but it's still going to be incredible. We're going to stream the whole thing on Twitch, we'll have an undercard made up of the best e-sports players in the world duking it out, and we've even reduced the pay-per-view price to $50 in the United States and £15 in the United Kingdom."
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