UFC Announces 3 Events Within 1 Week in May, Starting With UFC 249

Dana White

UFC President Dana White speaks during a press conference promoting UFC 145: Jones v Evans.

On Friday, April 24, the UFC announced three events that will take place within one week. On May 9, UFC 249 will take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Because of social distancing measures, fans are not allowed to attend this event and all the following events for the foreseeable future.

UFC 249 is headlined by the No. 1 ranked lightweight contender, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson, and the No. 4 ranked lightweight, Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje. The two men will be fighting for the interim lightweight championship.

Then, the UFC will host an event on May 13 and 16 in the same arena. The fight cards for those events have not been announced.

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The UFC Events Will Be Regulated by the Florida State Boxing Commission

The events taking place in Florida will be regulated by the Florida State Boxing Commission. In the statement issued by the UFC, Patrick Cunningham, the Florida State Boxing Commission Executive Director, said:

Florida’s State Commission and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation have been in continued coordination with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to identify options for bringing the UFC to Florida for upcoming events. Florida welcomes the UFC to the Sunshine State, and our commission stands ready to sanction the events to be held on May 9, 13 and 16. Health and safety protocols will be in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all individuals who are helping to make these events possible. With this triple date feature of UFC events coming in May, Florida is continuing to build a strong collaboration with UFC that sets the foundation for more opportunities that we hope UFC will choose to host in our state in the months to come.


UFC 249 Features Two Exciting Title Fights

As mentioned, UFC 249 is headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight belt. In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo will put his bantamweight title on the line against the former king of the division, Dominick Cruz.

Two massive heavyweights will square off inside the Octagon. The No. 2 ranked heavyweight, Francis Ngannou, will take on No. 6 ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Two top featherweights will be battling as well, with No. 7 Jeremy Stephens taking on No. 9 Calvin Kattar.

Opening up the UFC 249 main card will be a rematch years in the making between two fan favorites. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will be locking horns against former lightweight champ Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.

Here is the official UFC 249 fight card:

Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
Jeremy Stephens vs. Fabricio Werdum
Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Uriah Hall vs. Jacare Souza
Vincente Luque vs. Niko Price
Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa

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