[Event] UFC 249 - Ferguson vs. Gaethje - May 9

Dent · **Posted:** Mon Mar 23, 2020 6:29 pm

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UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship expected to take place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

Fight card

Main card

Lightweight Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje Interim Lightweight Championship
Bantamweight Henry Cejudo (c) vs. Dominick Cruz Bantamweight Championship
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Featherweight Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Heavyweight Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan de Castro

Preliminary Card (ESPN)

Welterweight Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Heavyweight Alexey Oleynik vs. Fabrício Werdum
Women's Strawweight Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Welterweight Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price

Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+)

Featherweight Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
Light Heavyweight Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey

Background

The event was originally planned to take place on April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed. On April 21, the UFC confirmed that UFC 249 would be moved to May 9 and also expected to take place in Florida.

A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between the current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former interim champion Tony Ferguson (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner) was slated to headline this event. The pairing had previously been scheduled and cancelled for various reasons on four separate occasions (The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale, UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans, UFC 209 and UFC 223) over the last four years. The bout was cancelled for a fifth time due to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic (see section below).

A featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar was expected to take place at UFC 248. However, Stephens was removed from the card in mid-January with an injury. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.

A heavyweight bout between Shamil Abdurakhimov and Ciryl Gane was scheduled for the event. However, it was announced on March 5 that Gane was forced to pull out of the event after he was struck by a pneumothorax in training and the bout was eventually scrapped.

A welterweight bout between former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good and Belal Muhammad was scheduled for this event. The pairing was previously expected to meet at UFC 205 in November 2016, but Good was pulled from that event after being notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) due to a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test. However, Good pulled out due to injury on April 4 and the bout was scrapped. It was announced on April 20 that Good actually tested positive for COVID-19, being the first fighter to publicly acknowledge the fact.

A women's strawweight rematch between former UFC Women's Strawweight Champions Jéssica Andrade and Rose Namajunas was expected to co-headline the event. The pairing previously met at UFC 237 in May 2019, where Andrade won via second round TKO to capture the title. However, Namajunas pulled out on April 8 due to personal reasons, with her manager citing a pair of deaths in the family related to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.

COVID-19 pandemic – the April 18 date is postponed

On March 12, New York governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order restricting mass gatherings and sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 16, UFC president Dana White announced via a letter to employees shared to the public that this event "is still scheduled as planned, but the location may change". On March 18, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) announced that the event would not be sanctioned to take place at the event's original site, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. On March 23, White revealed that he already had a new location for this event, but would only confirm that it will be held behind closed doors. He added two days later that the card could feature a different lineup depending on the logistics.

Khabib Nurmagomedov stated on March 30 that he was in Dagestan and his participation at the event could be jeopardized by travel bans related to the pandemic. He stated on April 1 that he would probably not be competing at the event due to those restrictions and reinforced that people should be in quarantine nowadays. He later confirmed that he would compete if a location was given and they were able to move him there, but did not see it happening.

The UFC announced on April 6 that Nurmagomedov would be replaced by former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje, with an interim title to be disputed between him and Tony Ferguson. The rest of the card also suffered a few changes, with the following fights being added as well:

A heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The bout was originally scheduled to headline UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik on March 28, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.
A heavyweight bout between Greg Hardy and Yorgan de Castro; the bout was originally scheduled for UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik.
A welterweight rematch between Vicente Luque and Niko Price; both fighters were expected to face different opponents at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. They first met at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida in October 2017, where Luque won via second round submission.
Islam Makhachev was expected to face Alexander Hernandez in a lightweight bout, but was removed from the event due to travel restrictions and replaced by Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer.
A bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Ray Borg; Vera was expected to compete against a different opponent at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik.

Since Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California is located on land owned by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the Santa Rosa Indian Community, the event did not fall under the jurisdiction of the California State Athletic Commission UFC 249 Live Reddit (CSAC) and their ban on combat sports events through the end of May.

Ottman Azaitar was expected to face Khama Worthy in a lightweight bout, but was removed from the event due to travel restrictions and replaced by Michael Johnson.
A light heavyweight bout between Ryan Spann and Sam Alvey; Alvey was expected to compete against a different opponent at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik.

The following fights were removed from the event and are expected to be rescheduled for future cards:

A light heavyweight bout between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cuțelaba (a rematch from their meeting at UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo).
A heavyweight bout between Ben Rothwell and Gian Villante.
A middleweight bout between Karl Roberson and Makhmud Muradov.
A bantamweight bout between Hunter Azure and Umar Nurmagomedov.

A location for the event was not revealed, but Dana White said the UFC's temporary home would host U.S.-based fighters who aren't barred from traveling domestically. On April 7, Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Halsey Beshears made a post on Twitter, offering to help sanction and host UFC events in the state. It was later revealed that the event was expected to take place at Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California, the site of several events for the defunct World Extreme Cagefighting and Tachi Palace Fights promotions.

On April 9, White announced that this event would not take place as scheduled and all other UFC events would be suspended until further notice, citing interventions from high-ranking staff of the UFC's U.S. media rightsholders, ESPN Inc. and parent The Walt Disney Company. It was later revealed that the 40th Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, influenced the decision of cancelling the event.

May 9 – a new date is set for the event

The promotion originally planned UFC 250 to take place at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil on May 9. On April 7, it was announced that the venue would be used as a field hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and would not be able to host the fight card.

A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between the current champion Henry Cejudo (also former UFC Flyweight Champion and 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling) and former WEC and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo was expected to serve as that event's headliner. However, Aldo pulled out on April 8 due to visa issues as the event was expected to be moved to the United States. While not officially announced by the promotion at the time, former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (who hasn't fought since December 2016) was expected to replace him.

A UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current champion Amanda Nunes (also the current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Felicia Spencer was expected to serve as the co-headliner. Nunes announced on April 20 that she would not compete at this date due to her desire to have a full training camp.

Due to the event being expected to be relocated to the United States, several changes had been made due to fighters being unable to compete due to visa issues:

A light heavyweight bout between the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and Antônio Rogério Nogueira was cancelled. The pairing previously met at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights.
Ketlen Vieira, who was expected to face Marion Reneau in a women's bantamweight bout.
Former bantamweight title challenger Bethe Correia, who was expected to face Pannie Kianzad in a women's bantamweight bout.
Augusto Sakai, who was expected to face former WSOF Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov in a heavyweight bout.
Carlos Felipe, who was expected to face Sergey Spivak in a heavyweight bout.

On April 21, it was announced that the UFC moved UFC 249 to the new date, marking the promotion's return after the first wave of cancellations, most likely in Florida. Florida venues are permitted to host UFC events behind closed doors as a result of Executive Order 20-91 signed April 9, 2020 by Governor Ron DeSantis, specifically stating as an essential service, "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience - including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production - only if the location is closed to the general public." They confirmed the new card on April 24, with the Ferguson vs. Gaethje bout still scheduled to serve as headliner. The organization also announced that it will host other two events on May 13 and 16, both in Jacksonville. The rest of the card will feature the following fights:

A women's strawweight bout between former Invicta FC and inaugural UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Michelle Waterson. The bout was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris on April 11, one of the first events cancelled due to the pandemic.
A featherweight bout between Bryce Mitchell and Charles Rosa. The bout was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman a week earlier.
Bouts already scheduled for the original UFC 250 event on May 9 – the previously mentioned UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, as well as a heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabrício Werdum and Aleksei Oleinik.
A welterweight rematch between former WEC and UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and former lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone. The pairing previously met in a lightweight bout at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson in January 2013, where Pettis won via first round knockout.

Fights that were originally expected to take place at this event on April 18, but will be rescheduled for future cards include Hernandez vs. Morales Ferrer, Vera vs. Borg, Johnson vs. Worthy and a women's bantamweight bout between Sijara Eubanks and Sarah Moras.

At the weigh-ins, Stephens weighed in at 150.5 lbs, 4.5 lbs over the featherweight non-title fight limit of 146 pounds. He will be fined an undisclosed percentage of his purse and his bout with Kattar is expected to proceed as scheduled at a catchweight. Additionally, a middleweight bout between former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza and Uriah Hall was cancelled after Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19.

Apr 7 - Updated fight card & background
Apr 8 - Updated poster & background
Apr 10 - Updated cancelled fight card & background
Apr 22 - Updated title, event is back on
Apr 24 - Updated fight card & background
Apr 29 - Updated fight card
May 4 - Updated background
May 8 - Updated fight card & background

[Event] UFC 249 - Ferguson vs. Gaethje - May 9

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