Magomed Ankalaev Could Be Off UFC 249 Due To Russia Travel Ban

UFC 249 has been forced to move from New York to a location to be determined due to the coronavirus and a fighter now may be off the same card to the virus.

Magomed Ankalaev, who is scheduled to face Ion Cutelaba in a rematch at the event, has now taken to Instagram to reveal that the recent travel ban enacted by Russia could cause him to miss the event:

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--Ровно через три недели состоится реванш Магомеда Анкалаева против Иона Куцелабы . Как полетит на этот бой Анкалаев будет для нас большой загадкой , так как с сегодняшнего дня на неопределенный срок авиаперелёты из России в другие страны ЗАПРЕЩЕНЫ! . Хабиб и остальные члены его команды успели вчера уехать из России, Анкалаеву стоило поступить так же и уехать из страны вчера же. . --Мое мнение : Я думаю что на 60% бой Анкалаева на турнире UFC 249 не состоится........!

A post shared by -------------- ---------------- (@team_ankalaev) on Mar 27, 2020 at 8:30am PDT

MMA Junkie provided a translation for what Ankalaev said:

“How I will fly to this battle will be a big mystery for us, since from today for an indefinite period air flights from Russia to other countries are FORBIDDEN! Khabib (Nurmagomedov) and the rest of his team managed to leave Russia yesterday, I should have done the same and left the country yesterday. I think that 60% of the fight at the UFC 249 tournament will not take place!”

There has been no comment from the UFC yet as to the status of Ankalaev’s bout at UFC 249.

UFC 249 takes place on Saturday, April 18 from a location to be determined with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.