Despite many sporting events having been canceled amid the coronavirus crisis, UFC's president Dana White has continued to press ahead with planned fights.

UFC 249 - which was slated to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday prior to the COVID-19 pandemic - will now take place on a private island recently acquired by White, he confirmed in an interview with TMZ Sports,

The 50-year-old revealed that deal for the island has not been clinched as of yet - but it's reportedly close. However, it is not known what part of the world the island will be located.

"I am a day or two away from securing a private island," White told TMZ. "I have a private island that I've secured; we're getting the infrastructure put in now, so I'm gonna start doing the international fights, too.

"With international fighters, because I won't be able to get international fighters into the U.S., I have a private island that I'm gonna start flying them all in and doing international fights from there. So as of April 18th, the UFC is back up and running."

"We have all our own planes and everything," White added. "They're gonna fly into the island, get the fighters."

In terms of health concerns for the fighters and production staff, White assured TMZ that everyone would be subject to a thorough screening process.

Speaking to ESPN regarding the safety of the fighters and crew, White said: "Health and safety is a thing we worry about all the time. Not just during the coronavirus.

"Obviously, this has made our job a little tough. But we're going to do everything above and beyond to make sure everybody that's associated with this event is safe. Just like we always do. A lot of things."

He added: "We're going to go above and beyond and do everything that we can to make sure everybody is safe during the event."

UFC 249 has already seen disruptions, with Khabib Nurmagomedov forced to drop out of the main event due to lockdown in his home country of Russia. Instead, Tony Ferguson will be fighting Justin Gaethje for the interim title.

UFC 249 was originally supposed to take place in Brooklyn, New York. However, last month Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statewide ban on mass gatherings of more than 500 people.

Despite many sporting events having been canceled amid the coronavirus crisis, UFC's president Dana White has continued to press ahead with planned fights.

UFC 249 - which was slated to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday prior to the COVID-19 pandemic - will now take place on a private island recently acquired by White, he confirmed in an interview with TMZ Sports,

The 50-year-old revealed that deal for the island has not been clinched as of yet - but it's reportedly close. However, it is not known what part of the world the island will be located.

"I am a day or two away from securing a private island," White told TMZ. "I have a private island that I've secured; we're getting the infrastructure put in now, so I'm gonna start doing the international fights, too.

"With international fighters, because I won't be able to get international fighters into the U.S., I have a private island that I'm gonna start flying them all in and doing international fights from there. So as of April 18th, the UFC is back up and running."

"We have all our own planes and everything," White added. "They're gonna fly into the island, get the fighters."

In terms of health concerns for the fighters and production staff, White assured TMZ that everyone would be subject to a thorough screening process.

Speaking to ESPN regarding the safety of the fighters and crew, White said: "Health and safety is a thing we worry about all the time. Not just during the coronavirus.

"Obviously, this has made our job a little tough. But we're going to do everything above and beyond to make sure everybody that's associated with this event is safe. Just like we always do. A lot of things."

He added: "We're going to go above and beyond and do everything that we can to make sure everybody is safe during the event."

UFC 249 has already seen disruptions, with Khabib Nurmagomedov forced to drop out of the main event due to lockdown in his home country of Russia. Instead, Tony Ferguson will be fighting Justin Gaethje for the interim title.

UFC 249 was originally supposed to take place in Brooklyn, New York. However, last month Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statewide ban on mass gatherings of more than 500 people.