Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight champion Carla Esparza hopes to punch her way back into title contention when she throws hands with fellow 115-pound dynamo Michelle Waterson at the upcoming UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) event, taking place this Sat. night (May 9, 2020) on ESPN+ from inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Like Tony Ferguson before her, Esparza won’t be cleared to compete until first testing negative for coronavirus, which means the dreaded swab test. I wish there was a more dignified way of describing this but they basically take a giant cotton swab and jam it up your nose, sort of like a throat culture (or Pap smear) for your nasal cavity. I wasn’t able to get through the video without squirming, which is to be expected based on this recent assessment.
For a detailed breakdown of the Esparza vs. Waterson “Prelims” fight click here.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 249 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 249: “Ferguson vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.