The unflappable Dana White has booked UFC 249 for May 9 in Florida
UFC 249 is sealed and delivered – signed, Dana White.
WHAT A CARD! ? #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/JRNGc2hjm3
— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2020
Just over two weeks ago, UFC President Dana White canceled UFC 249, after the April 18 card was nixed by ESPN and Disney executives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in canceling the event, White promised that his organization would be one of the first professional sports leagues to be up and running amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
By all indications, he fulfilled that promise on Friday.
On May 9, @TonyFergusonXT and @Justin_Gaethje will risk it all ? #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/8beBVJePcP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2020
UFC 249 will now take place on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, with no fans in attendance. It will be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
The co-main event will feature a bantamweight title tilt between champion Henry Cejudo and former champion Dominick Cruz.
ESPN statement on UFC 249: Sports play an important role in people’s lives and can bring moments of escape in challenging times. We look forward to bringing UFC to fans again.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 24, 2020
UFC wouldn’t be bringing itself to fans again if not for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deeming sports “an essential business” just over 10 days ago.
So pro sports in Florida are ‘essential business.’ What might it mean for Miami’s teams? https://t.co/fxut7Mmjlr
— Miami Herald Sports (@HeraldSports) April 15, 2020
White has also been working on hosting fights at a remote location that he has dubbed “Fight Island.”
On Friday, he said Fight Island was nearing completion, and that fighters would be able to live and train on the island, and UFC would hold entire cards on the island.
Per Dana White, Fight Island will be operational by June. Octagon on the beach. Hotels for fighters to stay at while they are there. Once things go back to normal, Fight Island will likely get retired, but it’s a real piece of the promotions plans.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 24, 2020
With Florida opening its doors to the UFC and the development of Fight Island, White is planning to have the UFC schedule back on-track for the summer, after having to cancel or postpone several events in recent weeks.
Dana White says the UFC will put on three events in eight days, starting with #UFC249 on May 9, and continuing with fight cards on May 13 and 16.
(via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/aUblng4YxV
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 25, 2020
As far as UFC 249, it was originally supposed to take place on April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and feature a much-anticipated lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, the No. 1 contender in the division.
However, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo put strict restrictions on mass gatherings, meaning UFC 249 would have to find a new location. In addition, Nurmagomedov traveled back to his home country of Russia and was then unable to fly back into the United States.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on
Stepping in for Khabib is lightweight veteran Justin Gaethje, who is coming off of back-to-back KO wins over Edson Barboza and Donald Cerrone.
Ferguson is undefeated in his last 12 fights and hasn’t suffered only one loss since 2009.
IT’S ON. #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/knd9KQc0SP
— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2020
In the co-main event, UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will defend his bantamweight title against former bantamweight king and UFC veteran Dominick Cruz.
Cejudo won a split decision over long-time flyweight king Demetrious Johnson to win the flyweight belt at UFC 227 in Aug. 2014. He defended the belt against T.J. Dillashaw in Jan. 2019 at UFC Fight Night, winning by first round TKO. He then won the vacant bantamweight belt with a 3rd round TKO of Marlon Moraes at UFC 239 in June 2019.
Cruz has been sidelined for over three years due to injuries, and last fought in Dec. 2016, losing the bantamweight championship via decision to Cody Garbrandt. However, before that, he held the belt dating back to 2011.
Our #UFC249 co-main event! ?@DominickCruz returns to face the bantamweight king – @HenryCejudo! pic.twitter.com/sr0Bigkhj6
— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2020
UFC 249 will be an event to remember.
Here’s to live sports being back.
