Getty Tony Ferguson will battle Tony Gaethje in the main event of UFC 249.
After a few attempts to make the event happen, the UFC is finally making a return to the octagon with a stacked card from VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida.
Ferguson vs Gaethje is fifth on the main PPV card, which starts at 10 p.m. ET. In order to watch a live stream of the fights online, you’ll need to purchase the PPV through ESPN+. Pricing depends on whether or not you’re already an ESPN+ subscriber, so here’s a full rundown of your options:
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How to Order UFC 249 If You Don’t Have ESPN+
You can get a special bundle deal that includes a one-year subscription to ESPN+ ($49.99 value) and UFC 249 ($64.99 value) for $84.98, which works out to about 26 percent savings:
Or, if you want to purchase them separately, you can first subscribe to a month of ESPN+ right here ($4.99 for ESPN+, or $12.99 for a bundle of ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+), and then follow the below directions for existing ESPN+ subscribers.
However, with the amount of UFC (and other sports) content on ESPN+, most MMA fans are probably going to keep ESPN+ long-term, meaning the value of the bundle is the better way to go if you don’t already have ESPN+.
How to Order UFC 249 If You Already Have ESPN+
Current ESPN+ subscribers can purchase the UFC 249 PPV by itself right here. Make sure you’re logged into your ESPN+ account, then select the “Only looking for UFC 249? Get it for $64.99 here” link:
Additionally, if you want the special bundle price, you can still get it even if you’re already an ESPN+ subscriber. The only difference is instead of starting a new ESPN+ subscription, you’ll just extend your current subscription by a year and get the UFC 249 PPV for a total of $84.98. You can get that bundle right here:
Where to Watch UFC 249
Once you’re signed up for ESPN+ and you’ve purchased the PPV, there are a number of different ways you can watch Ferguson vs Gaethje and the complete UFC 249 main card.
You can watch the fights on your computer via ESPN.com, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
For all of those options, you’ll need to sign in with your ESPN+ account to watch both the prelims (ESPN+) and the main card (ESPN+ PPV).
UFC 249 Preview
Some would say UFC 249 has been cursed in a way, with the fighting promotion trying multiple times to make it happen. Tony Ferguson waited patiently to get in the win for a shot at the title, although it was supposed to be against the champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, hence the interim tag on the fight. However, Nurmagomedov, but he has been unable to leave Russia. Ferguson had some harsh words about that.
“You’ve got good old meathead, f—ing fathead Khabib. He didn’t want to fight. He ran away like a dog with his tail between his legs. It’s the same thing with Conor,” Ferguson said in a press conference this week. “‘I’m gonna be next, I’m gonna be next’ is what everybody said. But where the f— are they at? Obviously they’re back home trying to quarantine and obviously we’re here crushing quarantine.”
Ferguson will now fight Justin Gaethje for theinterim lightweight title fight. Ferguson is a solid -225 to win the fight.
The co-main even features Henry Cejudo defending his title against Dominick Cruz. Cejudo is defending his title for the first time and has his eyes on battling against legends of the fight game.
“Eventually, eventually [I will face them]. But tell those dudes to wait in line, man,” Cejudo told reporters. “Tell me who they’ve beaten. Petr Yan, all these dudes, they probably should have fought each other to really make the No. 1 contender. I knocked out the No. 1 contender [Marlon Moraes in June 2019].
“If they continue to keep crying, call each other out, man, build a storyline, make fights. Jesus. … As of right now, this is why I’m calling out legends, man, because these dudes have paid their dues in this sport, Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo.”
Here is the full lineup for the highly-anticipated night:
- Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje: Interim lightweight title fight
- Henry Cejudo (champ) vs. Dominick Cruz: bantamweight title fight
- Francis Ngannou vs. Jair Rozenstruik: Heavyweight
- Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens: Featherweight
- Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro: Heavyweight
- Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone: Welterweight
- Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price: Welterweigh
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksei Oleinik: Heavyweight
- Ronaldo Souza vs. Uriah Hall: Middleweight
- Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson: Women’s strawweight
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa: Featherweight
- Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey: Light heavyweight
What made news pre-fight was that Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout, tested positive for coronavirus. Despite that, the night is expected to go on as planned, sans that scrap. Souza lives and trains in Florida.
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