Daniel Cormier Details Planned Precautions Taken For UFC 249

Daniel Cormier says the UFC left no stone unturned for their now-postponed April 18 event.

Cormier was hesitant about going through with color commentator duties ahead of UFC 249. “DC” would only agree to call the action if certain conditions were met. If Cormier is to be believed, those conditions were exceeded.

During an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Cormier said the UFC went to extreme lengths to ensure everyone taking part in the April 18 event was taken care of.

“One of the biggest worries for me was, no one can go with you — like nobody,” Cormier began. “They said ‘DC, you’ve got to come along. You’re going to check into the hotel, they’re going to screen you, and make sure you’re ok. Then you’re going to go into the arena, call the fights, then you’re going to leave.’ I mean, in terms of what they were going to try to do to protect us, it was crazy. [Joe] Rogan, myself, and [Jon] Anik — the Octagon has eight sides — we would each be on a different side of the Octagon [rather than side-by-side] just to make sure we were social distancing away from each other.

“By the time I was done with this conversation [with the UFC], I felt like I was almost safer at the event than I am anywhere else because it’s only people that are ok, we’re all away from each other, you go and get paid, and you’re there for a day. I could have drove up Saturday morning, called the fights, drove home Saturday night. It was perfect for me.”

Ultimately, UFC 249 was postponed along with future events. This, of course, is due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pressure from Disney, ESPN, and the state of California forced UFC president Dana White’s hand.

The UFC attempted to run the April 18 card inside the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in California. The planned main event was an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. This was a change from the initial headliner as Khabib Nurmagomedov is in Russia where a travel ban is in effect.