UFC 249 fight card

UFC president Dana White has been adamant that the promotion would be the first major sport to return amid the coronavirus pandemic, and he will make good on that promise this weekend. Originally scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn, UFC 249 will go down on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida, as the largest MMA promotion in the game brings fight fans what they’ve been craving for the past couple months.

The main event features arguably one of the best matchups on paper in the sport as Tony Ferguson takes on Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight crown. The two are among the best in the crowded 155-pound division and hoping to secure a shot at unifying with Khabib Nurmagomedov later on this year.

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A bit of a late curveball entered the fray on Friday night when middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza tested positive for COVD-19. He was the only fighter to test positive and UFC issued a statement saying he practiced strict social distancing throughout the week. He was seen was a mask and gloves throughout the weigh-ins on Friday and stay far from his scheduled opponent, Uriah Hall. White says this card and the two to follow from Jacksonville are still a go.

The co-main event sees another late addition to the card as bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo takes on former 135-pound king Dominick Cruz. It will be Cruz’s first in-ring action since losing the belt to Cody Garbrandt in December 2016. Plus, a potential heavyweight title eliminator gets the featured slot as Francis Ngannou and Jair Rozenstruik collide in what’s expected to be an absolute slug fest.

The action all goes down on Saturday, May 9 and will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view for the price of $64.99 for subscribers. The card as it currently stands is as follows:

Tony Ferguson -190 vs. Justin Gaethje +160 — Interim lightweight title
Henry Cejudo (c) -220 vs. Dominick Cruz +180 — bantamweight title
Francis Ngannou -280 vs. Jair Rozenstruik +230 — Heavyweights
Calvin Kattar -240 vs. Jeremy Stephens +200 — Featherweights
Greg Hardy -195 vs. Yorgan De Castro +165 — Heavyweights
Anthony Pettis -150 vs. Donald Cerrone +125 — Welterweights
Vicente Luque -280 vs. Niko Price +230 — Welterweights
Fabricio Werdum -330 vs. Aleksei Oleinik +260 — Heavyweights

Carla Esparza -160 vs. Michelle Waterson +140 — Women’s strawweights
Bryce Mitchell -165 vs. Charles Rosa +155 — Featherweights
Ryan Spann -420 vs. Sam Alvey +330 — Light heavyweights

UFC 249 countdown

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