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Report: UFC 249 set for California tribal land

MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group / Getty

UFC 249's location is no longer a secret.

The April 18 pay-per-view card will take place at Tachi Palace Casino Resort on tribal land near Lemoore, California, sources told The New York Times' Kevin Draper.

Last week, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspended combat sports events through the end of May. However, UFC 249 won't fall under CSAC jurisdiction because the venue is on land owned by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the Santa Rosa Indian Community. The land also doesn't fall under the stay-at-home order issued in March by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

UFC 249, which has a new main event of Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title, was originally slated for Brooklyn but uprooted from that location due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC president Dana White has refused to reveal where the card will take place.

Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was originally set to fight Ferguson at the event, but global travel restrictions forced him to remain in Russia.

Tachi Palace has a history of hosting MMA events. WEC held 22 of its first 24 cards at the venue from 2001 to 2006. Additionally, regional promotion Tachi Palace Fights exclusively ran events at the casino resort from 2009 to 2018.

The CSAC said in a statement to The New York Times that the commission will not oversee UFC 249.

Veteran MMA journalist Jeff Sherwood reported that the UFC will hold its next four events at Tachi Palace. White said Monday he has the location locked down for two months.

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