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Rogan won't call UFC 249 if event proceeds amid coronavirus pandemic

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UFC color commentator Joe Rogan won't be calling UFC 249 if it happens on April 18 due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

"I guess someone's gonna commentate it - it's not gonna be me," Rogan said during Thursday's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience."

UFC president Dana White has insisted the event headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson will proceed as scheduled behind closed doors. It won't take place at the original venue in Brooklyn, however, and the promotion has yet to announce a new location for the card.

Rogan is skeptical.

"I don't know how they're gonna do that," he said. "I don't know if they're gonna be able to do that in the United States."

Rogan also expressed concerns about medical screenings for the event. White said earlier this week that UFC fighters, staff, and event personnel will receive "the best medical attention possible" during the pandemic, but he refused to say whether athletes competing at UFC 249 will be tested for the virus.

"How are they gonna make sure that nobody has (the coronavirus)? You're gonna have to test everybody," Rogan said. "And if someone has it, do you let them fight? What if they have it and ... they have no symptoms, but they have (the virus). What if Khabib has (it)? Or what if Tony has (it)? Does Khabib even fight him?"

Rogan said he believes White's drive to make Nurmagomedov-Ferguson happen stems from the fact that the bout has been canceled four times in the past.

"This fight is so cursed," Rogan said. He added: "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."

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