Khabib Nurmagomedov's fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 is OFF – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

            

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC is OFF with lightweight champion unable to leave Russia due to coronavirus outbreak

• Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC is now off
• The Russian lightweight champion is stranded in Russia due to the coronavirus

is the fifth time a highly-anticipated fight between the pair has been called off

• Justin Gaethje is ready to replace Khabib to take on Ferguson, it has been said

) Coronavirus symptoms : what are they and should you see a doctor?

Max Winters For Mailonline Published:

: (BST, 1 April)

: : BST, 1 April 8118911 Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘s fight with Tony Ferguson at (UFC) has been called off with the lightweight champion unable to leave (Russia due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The fight scheduled for April in Brooklyn was set to feature Nurmagomedov but the lightweight champion has been left frustrated by a Russian travel ban as pa rt of the country battle against Covid – 23.

His attempts to get out of Russia have proven to be fruitless and, in a statement posted on Wednesday night, Khabib has confirmed the fight is off.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Tony Ferguson has been called off with him stuck in Russia

Ferguson was due to take on Nurmagomedov next month but his opponent is stranded () He wrote: ‘Staying home in quarantine and reading the reaction of people to the situation around my fight, it turns out that the whole world should be in quarantine, governments of all countries , famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease, to save people, and Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free and t rain flying around the world, for the sake of fight?

‘I understand everything and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all.

‘But Khabib still has to fight, is that what (you’re) saying?

‘Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes.’

It means a proposed fight between Khabib and Ferguson has now been postponed for a fifth time.

It emerged earlier on Wednesday that Khabib had been offered a ray of hope with Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency stepping up to offer him a private jet to the US.

Khabib’s withdrawal has left UFC chief Dana White scrambling around for a replacement

Justin Gaethje is ready to replace Khabib to take on Ferguson, it has been claimed

He is currently stuck in his native Dagestan, but the agency suggested he may still be able to gain a permit for travel but that now seems to have fallen through.

With Khabib’s participation in doubt in recent weeks, it had been reported that Justin Gaethje was in place to replace the MMA superstar.

Although his replacement is yet to be confirmed, Gaethje is considered the favorite to step in despite Ferguson still considering his options according to ESPN . Co nor McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh had hinted that the Notorious could have emerged as a replacement in response to a Twitter poll.

Kavanagh replied to a vote on who Ferguson should face by stating ‘maybe there is a third option. ‘

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