Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White is very proud of the fact that he lived up to his promise to be the first pro sports league to return from hiatus after COVID-19 hit the pause button on normal everyday life.
That was very evident during the promotion’s latest promo video to hype this weekend’s (Sat., May 9, 2020) UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+ from inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., which will see Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje battle it out for the interim Lightweight title and a shot to unify the belts against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In the promo White shared to his Instagram account, the clip starts off with the announcements of several sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB and the NHL bringing their respective seasons to a halt as a result of the coronavirus. It then transitions to UFC itself, who despite taking a couple of months off, found a way to return sooner, rather than later.
White’s hope is that other spots leagues will follow in his footsteps and try to stage comebacks should all three of his upcoming events go off without a hitch. In fact, the outspoken and confident president is even willing to share all of the documentation he submitted in order to get approved to any league that wants it.
UFC 249 will also feature a co-main event title fight that will see Henry Cejudo defend his Bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz, while Francis Ngannou and and Jairzinho Rozenstruick battle in Heavyweight action.
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+.
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