Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is gearing up for its highly-anticipated return to action after an extended hiatus due to COVID-19, as the Endeavor-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion will stage UFC 249 on Sat., May 9 inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The pay-per-view (PPV) extravaganza will be headlined by an interim Lightweight title fight as Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje collide for the chance to unify the titles against division king, Khabib Nurmagomedov, sometime this year.
The two were set to headline the previously-scheduled UFC 249 event on April 18 before ESPN, Disney and California’s governor stepped in to spoil Dana White’s plans. But now that UFC has found a friend in Florida, the promotion is looking to make up for lost time.
In the co-headlining act, Dominick Cruz will look to once again become Bantamweight champion as he faces current division kingpin, Henry Cejudo. Also, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone tango for a second time, while Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruick collide in what is likely a No. 1 contenders fight at Heavyweight.