White: It'll be 'very expensive' for UFC to return in May

UFC president Dana White is going ahead with a planned event on May 9 despite the coronavirus pandemic, but it'll be costly.

"Listen, I'm not stopping. I have this thing figured out," White said on Sirius XM's "Happy Hours" on Wednesday. "The reality is, can it be done? Yes, it can be done. It's just very expensive. It's very expensive. And I'm willing to spend the money to do it."

The promotion was recently forced to cancel UFC 249, which was slated for April 18 in California, after executives from Disney and ESPN told White to "stand down." Additionally, all events were postponed indefinitely.

But White announced Tuesday that the UFC will return with a star-studded lineup - including three title bouts - next month. He expects to hold several events behind closed doors at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas starting in May.

A location has not yet been confirmed for the May 9 card, which is expected to feature Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title, bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo against ex-champ Dominick Cruz, and Amanda Nunes versus Felicia Spencer for the women's featherweight belt.

The UFC has been adamant about proceeding with regular operations ever since the COVID-19 outbreak started shutting down much of the sports and entertainment world. The company has officially postponed a total of four events in response to the crisis so far.