It won’t be the card as originally scheduled, but on Friday, the UFC announced via press release that UFC 249 was a go. As well as two other shows — all slated for Jacksonville, Florida’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Starting on May 9, all three will take place in the span of a week. Bringing the lengthy drought in MMA to a sudden, definitive end. If these events take place as planned.
There’s little reason to believe they won’t. Florida’s governor previously declared professional sports to be “essential business.”
In Friday’s press release, the UFC confirmed that Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje will headline UFC 249. The fight will be contested for the interim lightweight championship.
“I can’t wait to deliver some great fights for the fans,” UFC President Dana White was quoted as saying. “I want to give a big thanks to Mayor Curry, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and Florida State Boxing Commission Executive Director Patrick Cunningham for getting this thing done and giving us a venue to put on these incredible cards, as well our media partners including ESPN and ESPN+, for bringing it to fans. My team is ready to go and the fighters are excited to get back in there with these back-to-back events.”
The additional two cards will take place May 13 and 16, the release noted.
“Florida’s State Commission and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation have been in continued coordination with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to identify options for bringing the UFC to Florida for upcoming events,” Florida State Boxing Commission Executive Director, Patrick Cunningham said in statement. “Florida welcomes the UFC to the Sunshine State, and our commission stands ready to sanction the events to be held on May 9, 13 and 16. Health and safety protocols will be in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all individuals who are helping to make these events possible. With this triple date feature of UFC events coming in May, Florida is continuing to build a strong collaboration with UFC that sets the foundation for more opportunities that we hope UFC will choose to host in our state in the months to come.”
UFC 249 will air on PPV (via ESPN+ in the U.S.), following a preliminary card simulcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ in English and Spanish, and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass. In addition to Ferguson vs. Gaethje, Henry Cejudo will defend his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz.
That fight was originally expected to see Cejduo face Jose Aldo in Brazil, on the very same date. With Aldo unable to travel, Cruz is getting back into the octagon for the first time in years.
Additional bouts include Francis Ngannou facing Jair Rozenstruik, which was supposed to headline UFC Columbus last month.
UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – for the vacant UFC interim lightweight championship
Henry Cejudo (c) vs. Dominick Cruz – for the UFC bantamweight championship
Francis Ngannou vs. Jair Rozenstruik
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Uriah Hall vs. Jacare Souza
Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
Details for the remaining two dates have yet to be announced. All three events are closed to the public.
