Conor McGregor is easily one of the most outspoken athletes in the entire UFC and recently, he went on an extended rant on Twitter about Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. For some backstory, Gaethje has been clamoring for a McGregor fight for years although Conor has refused to acknowledge him. Over the weekend, Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson and will now get a shot at the title against Khabib. This has angered McGregor who has wanted a rematch with the Dagestanian for the last two years.

In his rant, McGregor promises that Khabib will chicken out of his fight with Gaethje and that the American will end up fighting Conor at a date to be determined. In fact, McGregor is now sending some threats Gaethje's way, noting that he will absolutely destroy the most recent UFC 249 winner. McGregor even seems to be holding a grudge from the time Gaethje told him he was a bad dad.

UFC 249 was supposed to be quick work for Tony Ferguson who was slated to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the title, instead. Due to the Coronavirus, Khabib was unable to partake in the event and he got to up against Justin Gaethje. Not many pundits were giving Gaethje much of a chance but in the end, he came through with a fifth-round TKO after landing multiple headshots on Ferguson. As you can imagine, Gaethje was absolutely ecstatic about the win while Ferguson was distraught.

In the clip below, you can see how the closing moments of the fight played out. Clearly, Ferguson was getting gassed and dizzy at the end, which allowed Gaethje to take advantage and finish off the fight, once and for all.

Khabib Nurmagomedov was supposed to defend his belt against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 but that is no longer happening because Khabib is stuck in Russie amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Russia is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world right now and travel restrictions have made it impossible for Nurmagomedov to fight right now. Instead, Ferguson will be fighting Justin Gaethje this Saturday, although fans are still disappointed that Khabib won't make it.

Ferguson has been quite harsh on Khabib, saying he purposely went to Russie, knowing it would eventually close before the fight. During today's episode of First Take, Ferguson reiterated his distaste for Khabib and noted that the UFC fighter doesn't exist to him anymore. Ferguson also thinks Khabib should just relinquish his belt and retire from the sport completely. 

Dana White has been adamant that UFC 249 and every other UFC event would go on as planned, despite the Coronavirus. In fact, White was planning on purchasing a private island so he could host all of his events during the pandemic. Well, none of those plans are going to come to fruition as it has been reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN that UFC 249 is canceled and all other events are indefinitely being put on hold.

This news shouldn't be shocking to anyone especially when you consider how it was a pipe dream for the events to go on, in the first place. The headline fight was supposed to be Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov but because of the laws in Russia, Khabib couldn't leave the country. They replaced him with Justin Gaethje but fans weren't very excited about it.

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were supposed to duke it out at UFC 249 although due to the Russian border being closed, Khabib isn’t able to travel. This forced the champion to bow out of the fight, leading to the UFC’s rush for a replacement. Yesterday, it was revealed that Ferguson’s challenger would be none other than Justin Gaethje.

Following the announcement, Gaethje spoke to TMZ about agreeing to the fight and what his mindset is going into UFC 249. As he explains, he has nothing to lose and that this is his best chance at getting a shot at a championship belt. Needless to say, he is extremely motivated for this opportunity.

“Heroes live forever, legends never die and I’m literally here to make a statement. My name will be carried on far longer after I’m here because of my effort, because of my work ethic and because of the skills I possess,” Gaethje said. “There’s very few people on earth that would sign up for what me and Tony just signed up for, including most UFC fighters. A lot of guys will say that they’re ready, but a lot of guys would not put their name on the dotted line.”

Ferguson has had more time to prepare for this fight so it’s easy to see how Gaethje would be at a disadvantage. Regardless, it is surely going to be a fun fight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters in the UFC right now and everyone wants a shot at him. His latest challenger for the belt was supposed to be Tony Ferguson although those plans have now been canceled. UFC 249 is set to go down on April 18th but Khabib can’t make it because he is stuck in Russia due to the Coronavirus. He isn’t allowed to leave the country which makes his appearance at UFC 249 impossible.

Ferguson has been upset by this and has been asking for Khabib to be stripped of his title. Of course, Dana White isn’t ready to do this although he has decided on Khabib’s replacement. As some fans expected, Justin Gaethje will be Ferguson’s challenger at UFC 249.

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Ferguson had been calling for Conor McGregor to do it but that was never in the cards. Ferguson will have to go against a fighter who has been eager to make their way up the ranks and get some big-time fights in. As for Khabib, he will have to watch from his native Russia while under quarantine.

For now, the event doesn’t have a venue as many places in the United States are completely shutting down. Regardless, White remains committed to putting on a great show.

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We are in the midst of a global pandemic which means numerous people are stuck in their homes and countries. They aren't allowed to leave or travel as it is believed that this will help stop the spread of the virus. One of the people in this situation is none other than UFC superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov who was supposed to take on Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. For now, that fight is off due to the fact Khabib cannot leave his native Russia. Ferguson and UFC fans are upset at this development as the former wants Khabib to be stripped of his title.

Now, Conor McGregor is weighing in on this in light of the fact that Ferguson wants Conor to be Khabib's replacement. McGregor is respectfully declining the invitation although the UFC legend is claiming that Khabib has chickened out of the fight and that Ferguson should be rightfully declared the winner.

UFC President Dana White has done everything in his power to keep the fights alive as the coronavirus pandemic escalates, but he was finally forced to cancel a string of upcoming events on Monday night. 

In an interview with ESPN, White announced that Saturday's UFC on ESPN+ 29 card, as well as the fights planned for March 28th and April 11th have all been postponed. However, White promised fans that the highly anticipated Lightweight title fight between undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will still take place on April 18th - it 's just remains to be seen where.

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UFC 249 was originally scheduled to take place a the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and there's just no way that venue will be open for operation within the next four weeks. Still, White insists that the fight will go on, without a crowd, at some yet to be determined location. 

Says White (H/T MMA Fighting):

“We’re postponing the next three events, but Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib [Nurmagomedov], April 18 is still on and that will still happen,” White said on Monday. “We’re going to follow these guidelines to not have more than 10 people in a room and we’re hoping this all clears up by April.”

“This fight’s going to happen,” he said. “No crowd. Whatever it takes. Probably not even going to be in the United States, but this fight’s going to happen.”

“This is what we do,” White said. “We put fights on every weekend. The fighters want to fight. The fans want to see it. I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the fans and the fighters. These guys all want to continue. So we will.”

The Tony-Khabib showdown has been scheduled four different times in the past, none of which came to fruition for a variety of reasons. It looks like the UFC will do everything in their power to make sure it finally happens next month, even if the world is literally ending. Check out Dana White's comments in the video embedded below.