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Khabib v Ferguson fight at UFC 249 off

Mixed martial arts star Khabib Nurmagomedov said on Wednesday he would not take part in a UFC card scheduled for 18 April, saying he was not prepared to travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Lightweight champion Nurmagomedov was due to have headlined the UFC 249 event in a bout against Tony Ferguson but said in a post on Instagram he was not willing to leave Russia for the 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," Nurmagomedov wrote.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has already postponed three events after officials were unable to find venues to stage bouts amid restrictions put in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UFC had still not disclosed a venue for the Khabib-Ferguson fight, but president Dana White has spoken of his determination to organise the card.

Reports have said the fights were expected to go ahead without fans.

White said in an interview last week he wanted the fight to go ahead to try and restore "some normalcy" to US sport, which has been locked down since the coronavirus pandemic erupted.

"I'm gonna try to pull off Tony v Khabib on 18 April and try to get some normalcy back into this country," White said.

"I have four or five locations right now. We're getting this deal done."

View this post on Instagram

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 will and train 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. The greatest countries and the largest companies of our time are shocked by what is happening, every day the situation changes unpredictably. But Khabib still has to fight, is that what you saying? - Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes. - ?? ???? ???? ?? ????????? ? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ???, ?????????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????????, ????????????? ???? ????? ? ????????? ???? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ????????? ?????????? ????????????, ???? ?????????? ??????????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????, ? ?????, ?????????? ?? ???? ???????????? ? ?????? ??????????????? ??????? ???? ? ????????????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ? - ? ??? ??????? ? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??????? ???, ??????? ? ???? , ??? ? ? ???? ??????, ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???, ?? ? ?? ? ????? ?????????????? ??? ???. ????? ??????? ? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ? ???? ?? ????, ??? ??????????, ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ??????????????. ?? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???????, ??? ??????????? - ???????? ???? ? ????????? ???? ?? ??? ?????.

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on

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