FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018, file photo, Dana White, president of the UFC, speaks at a news conference after the UFC 229 mixed martial arts event in Las Vegas. Photo / AP.
FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2018, file photo, Dana White, president of the UFC, speaks at a news conference after the UFC 229 mixed martial arts event in Las Vegas. Photo / AP.
UFC boss Dana White has insisted Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson will go ahead with "10 people in the room" and blasted "wimpiest" critics who have called for the fight to be axed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
As the deadly COVID-19 bug sweeps the globe with over 11,500 deaths worldwide,major sporting events have been cancelled or postponed.
The UFC were forced to backdate their next three Fight Night events, but are adamant Nurmagomedov vs Ferguson — set for April 18 — will still take place, but not in New York or potentially even America.
The MMA promotion has received criticism for refusing to cancel the event, but promoter White insisted the right thing to do is allow the fighters to compete with the correct medical testing and make sure they are still paid.
"Go online and look at some of these people — and this isn't a knock, this is just a fact — the weakest, wimpiest people on earth cover the biggest, baddest sport on earth," White said on Instagram.
"I have over 350 employees who work for me. Multibillion-dollar companies are laying off all their employees right now. We haven't laid off one person at the UFC.
"And every fighter that fights for me will fight three times this year. Our schedule will go on. Everybody's gonna get paid, and we will figure this out, and we will be the first sport back on.
"Listen, the media can talk as much s*** as they want. They don't feed families. They don't take care of f***ing people. They don't have people that count on them. They don't have people to support.
"We're doing the right thing as far medical testing goes and everything. That's all we f***ing do. That's nothing new. We were doing that shit way before the coronavirus.
"We were taking care of people and making sure that everybody's healthy, and every fighter that's with me on the road is getting much better medical attention than they are at home — if they're with me. You know what I mean?
"I told our whole roster: If you or your loved ones have any type of situations or anything wrong, call me. I'll do everything in my power to make sure you get taken care of."
The UFC were forced to stage their event in Brazil behind closed doors last weekend, but MMA Fighting reported fighters were not being tested for COVID-19.
White revealed he will follow the advice of President Donald Trump by having no more than 10 people present while Nurmagomedov defends his unbeaten record and lightweight belt against Ferguson.
President Donald Trump, right, greets Dana White, head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, at a campaign rally Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
"We're gonna follow these guidelines to not have more than 10 people in a room and we're hoping that this all clears up by April," he explained to ESPN.
"This fight's going to happen, no crowd, whatever it takes. (It's) probably not going to even be in the United States but this fight's going to happen."
