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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was able to reschedule its UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) event for May 9, though we don’t yet know if the card will become UFC 250. In addition, the location of the city and venue remains a mystery.
One thing we do know is that Tony Ferguson will be fighting Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title, since the window for reigning 155-pound kingpin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has closed in advance of Ramadan.
So when will “The Eagle” fly again?
“I think he can be back in August,” manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “He told me originally the UFC had scheduled a San Francisco fight, I think it was August 1. He can fight there, it’s no problem. It doesn’t have to be September. But, as you know, (in) September they always have this Abu Dhabi card and I’m sure the UFC wants him to fight there.”
Nurmagomedov will face the winner of Ferguson vs. Gaethje.
The promotion was last seen in Abu Dhabi for UFC 242, where Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title with a submission win over Dustin Poirier. It’s unknown at this time how the coronavirus lockdown will affect the remainder of the promotion’s 2020 schedule.
We also don’t know where Conor McGregor factors into the equation. While he was originally promised a crack at the lightweight crown later this year, the top half of the division has recently been shuffled to keep the assembly line moving.
Still lots of pieces to this 155-pound puzzle.