UFC 249 Reportedly Will Take Place on California Tribal Land Amid COVID-19

UFC President Dana White will reportedly hold UFC 249 at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Central California on land "belonging to the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the federally recognized Santa Rosa Indian Community," according to Kevin Draper of the New York Times.

Per that report, the location is an "end run around widespread federal and state guidelines against holding large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, according to three people familiar with the decision."

The Tachi Palace Casino Resort itself has been closed since March 20 because of the coronavirus.

It is one of two locations White has reportedly obtained to hold fights despite the social-distancing guidelines enacted in the United States and in many countries around the globe. He also told ESPN's Brett Okamoto he's obtained an island to hold international fights:

"I'll tell you this, I'm this close to getting a deal done. So this place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I'm going to continue to pump fights out. I also secured an island. I've got an island. The infrastructure is being built right now. We're going to do all of our international fights on this island.

"So when we do this fight April 18, international and in the United States, we're going to start cranking. The UFC will be back up and running, internationally and here in the States."

White's plan to resume UFC fights has been met with some backlash:

The Tachi Palace Casino Resort's location on tribal land allows White to eschew both California's stay-at-home order and the need to be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission.

The Association of Ringside Physicians already urged the suspension of all combat sports, and the CSAC said it "echoes the guidance" of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the ARP, among other organizations, in recommending such cancellations.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were originally going to be the headliners in UFC 249 in Brooklyn, New York, though Nurmagomedov ultimately dropped out of the fight because of issues leaving Dagestan, with Russia closing its borders. Justin Gaethje will instead fight Ferguson.