UFC commentator and podcasting megastar Joe Rogan has revealed he won't be commentating at any UFC 249 that may take place.
Dana White has been fighting tooth and nail to find a way to finally get Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson into the octagon together after four failed attempts in the past.
However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is proving a tough nut to crack with many calling for White to swallow his pride and call the whole circus off.
White is adamant that the fight will happen though, which means that one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport will likely take place in an empty arena.
Rogan is the voice of the sport and has been a massive part of the UFC journey right from the beginning - his brilliant octagon-side commentary will be sorely missed by fans watching at home.
“The UFC is talking about putting on a fight on April 18th,” Rogan said on the JRE Experience (via MMAFighting).
“I don’t know how they’re gonna do that. I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to do that in the United States.
"They’re talking about doing it in a place with less than 10 people, just an open arena – I guess someone’s gonna commentate it [but] it’s not gonna be me – and they’re gonna be duking it out in an empty place. And they’re gonna try to do that on the 18th.”
Rogan was quick to emphasis that the UFC is more than capable of pulling it off and hosting the event but questioned whether that was the wisest move.
“They could definitely [hold the event]. The UFC has the capability of doing that. The thing is, how are they going to make sure nobody has it?” Rogan asked.
“You’re going to have to test everybody. And if someone has it, do you let them fight? What if they have it and they’re like Idris Elba and they have no symptoms but they’ve got the corona?
"What if Khabib has the corona? Or what if Tony has the corona, does Khabib even fight him?
“This fight is so cursed!” Rogan concluded.
“This is how Dana feels. This is why Dana’s trying so hard to make it happen even if there’s only 10 people in the room.”
Sooner or later White is surely going to have to pack it in and admit that this simply can't go ahead.
The curse strikes again.