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Then about 19 minutes into the interview, the phone alerts showed up shortly after 3 p.m.: UFC President Dana White, after weeks of speculation and criticism, was finally calling off UFC 249, he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
White added that all other UFC events were postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest level at ESPN … and the powers that be there asked me to stand down and not do this event on Saturday,” White told ESPN, which has a five-year deal with the MMA promotion.
When told of the cancellation of his April 18 fight, Ferguson, 36, was understandably shocked. The first words out of his mouth was an expletive, followed by “Oh wow.”
After nine seconds of silence and another expletive, the Costa Mesa lightweight composed himself: “Ohhhhh well. I’m still gonna train.”
“Ummmm … you know what? I’m sure it’s for a good reason. Let’s be real. I gotta keep the faith,” Ferguson said. “I gotta keep this … (expletive) … keep this small circle close, bro, and just keep focusing on what we can control, which is our heart rate and our breathing.”
“Dude, I’m just gonna keep collecting trophies and doing my same shit,” Ferguson said before pausing and getting emotional. “Every single time I wake up in the morning, when I do my work, say my prayers and I do (stuff), I hug my little boy … whew … kiss my wife. I just … keep doing what I’m doing. What am I gonna do?”
“The constant is things are always gonna change. The variable is how am I gonna react to it?” Ferguson said. “So we could throw that variable, baby, and we make that the constant. Which is why I’m gonna keep smiling, I’m gonna keep training, and you know what? I’m gonna put on some muscle. Dude, I’m skinny. I’m gonna put on some muscle.
“I’m gonna try my best. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna try my best. If I fall, I’ll get back up.”
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