Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
It was recently reported that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is looking to return to action on May 9 with an event somewhere in the U.S. Now, company president Dana White has confirmed those plans, and he’s going all out, as the outspoken head honcho is looking to build a mega-card featuring three title fights.
Speaking to ESPN, White revealed that the event will likely feature an interim Lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje, which was set to headline the now-doomed UFC 249 event on April 18. Also, Henry Cejudo could defend his Bantamweight title against former division king, Dominick Cruz. Rounding out the trio of proposed title fights will be a women’s Featherweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Felicia Spencer, which was set to go down at UFC 250 on the same date.
But that’s not all…not by a long shot.
Francis Ngannou will likely face off against Jairzinho Rozenstruick in Heavyweight action, while a rematch between Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone is also in the works. Furthermore, Michelle Waterson will likely face Carla Esparza in women’s Flyweight action, while Fabricio Werdum tangos with Aleksei Oleinik.
Here is the full proposed fight card so far, though none of the fights have officially been signed.
- Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje interim Lightweight title fight
- Henry Cejudo vs Dominick Cruz Bantamweight title fight
- Amanda Nunes vs Felicia Spencer women’s Featherweight title fight
- Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruick
- Anthony Pettis vs Donald Cerrone
- Jeremy Stephens vs Calvin Kattar
- Fabricio Werdum vs Aleksie Oleinik
- Greg Hardy vs Yorgan de Castro
- Michelle Waterson vs Carla Esparza
- Ronaldo Souza vs Uriah Hall
- Vicente Luque vs Niko Price
- Charles Rose vs Bryce Mitchell
Stacked!
The location of the event is still to-be-determined, though California, Florida and Texas are three potential landing spots. That said, “Fight Island” could also play host should it be up-and-running by then.
The promotion was recently forced to postpone UFC 249 after Disney, ESPN and California State officials intervened. As a result, White announced that UFC would postpone a few more events, which included UFC Nebraska and UFC Oklahoma City.
Per the report, several combatants are still hesitant to sign on the dotted line for fear of another cancelled event. More recently, 135-pound champion, Henry Cejudo, revealed that he needs a guarantee that the event will go on without any hiccups before he commits to defending his title.