Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The UFC’s May 9 card will be called UFC 249, per a report from ESPN.
It looks like UFC 249 will be going ahead after all, as ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that the blockbuster pay-per-view will take place on May 9 at an undisclosed venue.
Guys, breaking news: The UFC’s next event has an official name. Per the organization, May 9th, at a location TBA, is officially … UFC 249. Tell your friends.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 21, 2020
“Guys, breaking news: The UFC’s next event has an official name. Per the organization, May 9th, at a location TBA, is officially … UFC 249. Tell your friends,” Okamoto posted on Tuesday.
UFC 249 was originally supposed to take place on April 18 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dana White soon relocated to Lemoore, California, but state governor Gavin Newsom is reported to have persuaded Disney/ESPN to cancel the event altogether. Khabib Nurmagomedov was expected to put his lightweight title up for grabs against Tony Ferguson in the main event but the undefeated Dagestani was forced to pull out due to travel restrictions in his native Russia.
A week after the UFC 249 cancellation, White revealed he was working on securing a blockbuster event at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas featuring many of the same bouts from UFC 249 and the now-cancelled UFC 250 card. That event, which will feature a headlining interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, is called UFC 249 and will take place on May 9.
The reported lineup is as follows.
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
Jacare Souza vs. Uriah Hall
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
Charles Rosa vs. Bryce Mitchell
Bloody Elbow will keep you updated on this story as it develops.