Gaethje will replace Habib in a fight with Ferguson in UFC 249

The saga with UFC 249 is finally coming to an end - UFC president Dana White has finally determined the final list of participants. The place of Khabib Nurmagomedov, in the main battle of the evening, will be taken by American fighter Justin Gaethje.

Many of Khabib’s haters have already seen a certain conspiracy theory in this replacement: Khabib and Justin have one manager, Ali Abdelaziz, and he supposedly knew very well how the situation would develop and prepared a reserve fighter for a long time.

Bookmakers have already prepared odds for the battle of Gaethje and Ferguson, where Tony has become their favourite.

As for the venue, Dana White first dropped the veil of secrecy and said that it "basically exists." According to him, we are talking about a private island, which he rents.

“Soon I will officially reserve a private island. Now all the necessary infrastructure is being created there. UFC plans to fly foreign fighters to the island to fight, as they are currently not allowed into the United States for UFC bouts. So as of April 18, the UFC will return to business."

Dana White also stated that there will be no fans on this island and every fighter who flies there will be pre-tested and will also undergo regular checks in the future. In total, the tournament will be hosting 11 fights.

There will be a rematch between former UFC Strawweight champions - Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas. Also in the octagon will fight Heavyweights - Greg Hardy and Yorgan de Castro, Welterweights - Vicente Luque and Niko Price, as well as Featherweights - Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar.