ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that the UFC is now targeting May 9 as their next event with several fights in the works for the date.
After the plug was pulled on UFC 249 for this Saturday, Brett Okamoto reports that the UFC is looking to return to business with a stacked night of fights on May 9 at a yet to be disclosed location.
BREAKING: UFC president Dana White says the company has turned its focus to hosting its next event on May 9 at a location TBD. He remains adamant the company will get back on schedule, and barring outside factors, intends to hold a card on May 9. **Targeted matchups** include … pic.twitter.com/HBcqC8SmH7
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 14, 2020
Okamoto reports that the UFC is looking to book several key match-ups including:
- Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
- Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
- Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer
- Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
- Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan de Castro
- Alexei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
- Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza vs. Uriah Hall
- Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
- Charles Rosa vs. Bryce Mitchell
Most notably, the fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje has been rebooked for May 9 as opposed to reattempting to schedule a bout between Ferguson and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although it is undisclosed why, it is assumed that Nurmagomedov will be unavailable as he is observing Ramadan starting on April 23.
The fight card features several bouts that were from previously scheduled cards between March and May. Besides Ferguson and Gaethje, the biggest change is former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz returning to action for the first time in more than three years to take on current champion Henry Cejudo. Cejudo had been previously set to face former featherweight champion José Aldo on May 9.
While no location has been given, Dana White had stated last week that Fight Island, the private island that White had procured to hold events, may be ready within a month. The recent reports that the state of Florida has deemed WWE events as “essential” has also led to speculation that the door could be open for the UFC to hold events there as well.
