The location for UFC 249 is 99.9 per cent done, UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.  White would not disclose the prospective location, but did confirm that the pay-per-view event will go forward with a full fight card.

UFC 249 will be headlined by the long anticipated bout between undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and the number one contender, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.

"Trust me, Khabib has been telling me every day, 'Send location,'" White told ESPN, referencing a line used by Nurmagomedov. "I have it. It's 99.9%. On April 18, we are having this fight."

The card was originally scheduled for April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the promotion was forced to find a new location due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

White also confirmed to ESPN that Nurmagomedov returned to Russia to train, rather than staying in the USA where he does his training in San Jose.

Nurmagomedov is 28-0 in his professional MMA career.  The 31-year-old last defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September in Abu Dhabi.

Ferguson is on a 12-fight winning streak in the UFC and won his most recent fight over Donald Cerrone via a doctor’s stoppage at UFC 238 last June.

The UFC has already postponed three events since the outbreak of the virus as well as staging their Brasilia card in an empty arena.