VIDEO | Tony Ferguson receives COVID-19 nasal swab test for UFC 249

UFC 249 headliner Tony Ferguson has released footage of himself receiving a COVID-19 nasal swab test ahead of this weekend’s event.

One of the biggest concerns from critics of the event on Saturday going ahead has been the safety of the fighters involved. While there’s still no guarantee as to what the accuracy of these tests will be, it does appear as if the UFC has put certain measures in place to try and ensure things go as smoothly as they possibly can.

Whether or not we needed such a graphic shot of Ferguson receiving the test is a different matter altogether. It does not look comfortable in the slightest. See it below. 

Tony Ferguson just got his COVID-19 swab test done 👀 #UFC249 (via @TonyFergusonXT) pic.twitter.com/VBypwWzqCk

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 6, 2020

Ferguson is set to take on Justin Gaethje as he attempts to capture the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship for the second time in his career, securing a superfight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the process.

In addition to the physical risks that are in play with putting this event on in the first place, there’s a real fear amongst the UFC fandom that “The Highlight” could serve as the spoiler for a potential showdown between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov.

The fight has been booked and then called off five times now, and instead of waiting until it’s safe to make it happen, Dana White is rolling the dice by giving Gaethje the chance to jump ahead of Ferguson in the race for a shot at the dominant Russian.

In terms of the testing, though, at the very least, this is the kind of positive sign that other sports would’ve needed to reassure them that there could be a way to get events done in the right way.

We won’t really know whether or not the UFC is out of the woods until this block of three shows has been completed, but this is a good start for them.

What do you think of this wild video from Tony Ferguson?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/6/2020.