This week in MMA: Khabib Nurmagomedov to be blocked from entering USA

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer30 March 2020
UFC

UFC

With no actual fights taking place this weekend, the biggest news in the world of MMA is that Dana White has announced that UFC 249 will go ahead

The card had been in doubt following the decision to ban all mass gatherings by the New York government because of CODI-19. The event has now been forced to move from its original location of Madison Square Garden.
However, the UFC president has told Brett Okamoto on Instagram live stream that he has secured a new venue but “it’s going to be a closed event” with no fans in attendance. 
 
Had the UFC not secured a venue it would’ve seen Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson called off for a fifth time with both men pulling out with injury twice before.
Fans are still worried the fight may fall through though with both the US and Russian government’s implementing travel restrictions - Nurmagomedov is currently believed to be back in his native.
White also announced fights that had been cancelled because of COVID-19 would also feature on the UFC 249 card. Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik, which was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Columbus on Saturday, is one of the fights rumoured to be on the prelims. 

Jon Jones & Evans-Smith on wrong side of the law

The other big piece of news of the world in MMA was that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones, was arrested for driving while intoxicated and negligent use of a firearm in the early hours of Thursday morning. 
Jones’ long history of problems with law enforcement is no secret, with the 26-1 fighter having previously been caught in possession of cocaine. In 2015, he was stripped of his light heavyweight title after getting arrested for a hit and run involving a pregnant woman.
The Jackson-Wink fighter had looked to be back on the straight and narrow having racked up wins over Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes since returning to action in 2018. 
The UFC released a statement on the matter, but did not mention any repercussions that Jones would face from the promotion, stating: “UFC is aware of the situation regarding Jon Jones in Albuquerque early this morning. The organization has been in contact with Jones’ management team and is currently gathering additional information.” 
UFC womens flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko tried to defend Jones, claiming he is a “kind and noble man”, while middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who has had crossed words with Jones in the past, was quick to have a dig at the 32 year old, tweeting “Some goats are stubborn, some goats are just stupid” with Jones tagged in the post.
Jones wasn’t the only MMA fighter in legal trouble this week though, with Ashlee Evans-Smith being involved in the alleged theft of medical goods that had been collected to then be donated to a local hospital. 
Evans-Smith is seen on video arriving at the victims house to pick up a dresser they had bought online and were collecting, before her boyfriend walks back up to the house and picks up the bag containing the medical items. 
The UFC bantamweight fighter defended herself in an interview with Ariel Helwani, informing him that she thought the bag was filled with “bits for the dresser” after calling the incident a “misunderstanding” and then revealing that she had returned the items. 
The fighter gained a lot of attention on social media after the victim posted a status that revealed Evans-Smith had blocked her after stealing the items, which the UFC fighter also cleared up in the interview while also mentioning she believes the story blew up so quickly due to people having nothing else to do whilst self-isolating from Coronavirus.