''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event produced by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
that took place on May 9, 2020 at
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (originally Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Jacksonville, Florida. It currently serves as the home arena of the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, the Jacksonville Giants o ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, United States.
It was originally planned to take place on April 18 at
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, United States.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the event was eventually postponed ''(see section below)''.
On April 21, the UFC confirmed that UFC 249 would be moved to May 9 and take place in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Background
A
UFC Lightweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the former champion
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...
and former interim champion
Tony Ferguson
Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla (born February 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight C ...
(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 occasions (
The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale,
UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans,
UFC 209
''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
Background
The event wa ...
and
UFC 223
''UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Background
A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between i ...
) 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
Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the UFC ...
and
Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar (born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2007, Kattar formerly compet ...
was expected to take place at
UFC 248
''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
B ...
. 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
Shamil Gentovich Abdurakhimov (born September 2, 1981) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently fighting in the heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #14 in the UFC heavywe ...
and
Ciryl Gane
Ciryl Jacky Gane (born 12 April 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professi ...
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
A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve ...
in training and the bout was eventually scrapped.
A welterweight bout between former
Bellator Welterweight Champion
Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.
At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded ...
Lyman Good
Lyman Merrill Good (born May 26, 1985), also known as "American Cyborg", is an American mixed martial artist. He is perhaps best known for his time spent with Bellator, where he was the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion. Good currently co ...
and
Belal Muhammad
Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 ...
was scheduled for this event. The pairing was previously expected to meet at
UFC 205
''UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
In what was described by UFC president Dana White as ...
in November 2016, but Good was pulled from that event after being notified by the
United States Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
(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
Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade (born September 25, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Andrade is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's Flyweight division and is a ...
and
Rose Namajunas was expected to co-headline the event. The pairing previously met at
UFC 237
''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Background
The event was originally expected to be held ...
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
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
issued an order restricting mass gatherings and sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four days later, UFC president
Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
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
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...
(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. White subsequently added on March 25 that the card could feature a different lineup, depending on the logistics.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...
stated on March 30 that he was in
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
and his participation at the event could be jeopardized due to
travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and regions imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and regions imposed global restrictions th ...
. He stated on April 1 that he would probably not be competing at the event and reinforced that people should be in quarantine anyhow.
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
Justin Ray Gaethje (; born November 14, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As o ...
, with an interim title to be disputed between him and
Tony Ferguson
Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla (born February 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight C ...
. The rest of the card also underwent changes, with the following fights being added as well:
*A heavyweight bout between former
UFC Heavyweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
challenger
Francis Ngannou
Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. A ...
and
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (born 17 March 1988) is a Surinamese mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He currently holds the record for second fast ...
. 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
Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American former football defensive end, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played ...
and
Yorgan De Castro
Yorgan De Castro (born December 19, 1987) is a Cape Verdean professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...
; the bout was originally scheduled for
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik.
*A welterweight rematch between
Vicente Luque
Vicente Luque (born November 27, 1991) is an American and Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As ...
and
Niko Price
Nicholas Gordon Price (born September 29, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Born and raised in Cape Coral, Florida, Price attended Marine ...
; 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
Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...
was expected to face
Alexander Hernandez
Alexander Xavier Hernandez (born October 1, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Hernandez began wrestling at the age of 13 and started t ...
in a lightweight bout, but was removed from the event due to travel restrictions and replaced by
Omar Morales.
*A bantamweight bout between
Marlon Vera
Marlon Andres Vera Delgado (born December 2, 1992) is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vera first appeared on '' The Ultimate Fight ...
and former
UFC Flyweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
challenger
Ray Borg; Vera was expected to compete against a different opponent at
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik.
![Tachi Palace hotel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Tachi_Palace_hotel.JPG)
*
Ottman Azaitar
Ottman Azaitar (born February 20, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the younger brother of UFC fighter Abu Azaitar.
Background
Ottman Azaitar wa ...
was expected to face
Khama Worthy
Khama Worthy (born October 15, 1986) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2012, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), King of the Cage and CES MMA.
Backgr ...
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
Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fight ...
and
Sam Alvey
Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly com ...
; 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
Magomed Alibulatovich Ankalaev (russian: Магоме́д Алибула́тович Анкала́ев; born 2 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate F ...
and
Ion Cuțelaba
Ion Nicolae Cuțelaba (born 14 December 1993) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Born and raised in Chișinău, Cuțelaba began traini ...
(a rematch from their meeting at
UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo).
*A heavyweight bout between
Ben Rothwell
Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Heavyweight. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL where he h ...
and
Gian Villante
Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...
.
*A middleweight bout between
Karl Roberson
Karl William Roberson (born October 4, 1990) is an American former kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Early life and education
Raised in Neptune Township, New Jers ...
and
Makhmud Muradov
Makhmud Muradov (born 8 February 1990) is a Tajik-born Uzbek .
*A bantamweight bout between
Hunter Azure
Hunter Dean Azure (born March 2, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Azure was born on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in P ...
and
Umar Nurmagomedov
Umar Nurmagomedov (born March 1, 1996), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and Profe ...
.
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
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) is the agency charged with licensing and regulating more than 1.6 million businesses and professionals in the State of Florida, such as alcohol, beverage & tobacco, barbers/cosmetologi ...
Halsey Beshears
Halsey W. Beshears (born November 27, 1971 in Winter Park, Florida) is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) from January 2019 to January 2021. Pr ...
made a post on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, 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
Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino is an Indian casino and hotel on the Santa Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore, California.
History
The 1,100-seat Southgate Bingo Palace was built for $1 million by Paland, Inc. of Dallas, and opened on November 4, 1983. Wit ...
in
Lemoore, California
Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...
, the site of several events for the defunct
World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
and
Tachi Palace Fights
Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman.
Regarded as a regional promotion, ...
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.
ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity wit ...
and parent
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. It was later revealed that the 40th governor of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
, influenced the decision of cancelling the event.
May 9 – a new date is set for the event
The promotion originally planned
UFC 250
''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...
to take place at
Ginásio do Ibirapuera
Ginásio do Ibirapuera (officially named Ginásio Estadual Geraldo José de Almeida)
is an São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil on May 9.
[ ] On April 7, it was announced that the venue would be used as a
field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Brazil on 25 February 2020, when a man from São Paulo who had traveled to Italy tested positive for the virus. ...
and would not be able to host the fight card.
A
UFC Bantamweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion
Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...
(also former
UFC Flyweight Champion and
2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling) and former
WEC and two-time
UFC Featherweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
José Aldo
José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fight ...
was expected to serve as that event's headliner.
[ ] However, Aldo withdrew on April 8 due to
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
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
Dominick Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cruz ha ...
(who hadn't fought since December 2016) was expected to replace him.
[ ]
A
UFC Women's Featherweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion
Amanda Nunes
Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...
(also the current
UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former
Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Felicia Spencer
Felicia Dawn Spencer (born November 20, 1990) is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist. She is the former Invicta FC Featherweight champion and formally competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
S ...
was expected to serve as the co-headliner.
[ ] Nunes announced on April 20 that she would not compete on 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 were made due to fighters being unable to compete due to visa issues:
*A light heavyweight bout between the former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
Maurício Rua
Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former ...
(also
2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and
Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro" ...
was cancelled. The pairing previously met at
PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and
UFC 190
''UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 1, 2015, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Background
The event was headlined by a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between former UFC Bantamwei ...
, with Rua winning both fights.
*
Ketlen Vieira
Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born August 26, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, she is ranked #4 in the UFC women's bantam ...
, who was expected to face
Marion Reneau
Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...
in a women's bantamweight bout.
*Former bantamweight title challenger
Bethe Correia, who was expected to face
Pannie Kianzad
Pannie Pantea Kianzad (born December 8, 1991, in Ahvaz, Iran) is an Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist. She is currently signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in Invicta FC ...
in a women's bantamweight bout.
*
Augusto Sakai
Augusto Sakai (born May 19, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator MMA and is now competing in the Heavyweight division of the UFC.
Mixed martial arts career Early career
Sakai made his professional MMA d ...
, who was expected to face former
WSOF Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov
Blagoy Ivanov ( bg, Благой Александров Иванов; born October 9, 1986) is a Bulgarian mixed martial artist and Sambo (martial art), Sambo practitioner. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...
in a heavyweight bout.
*
Carlos Felipe
Carlos Felipe (born January 12, 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. A professional since 2014, he most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...
, who was expected to face
Sergey Spivak
Sergey Spivak (born January 24, 1995, as Serghei Spivac) is a Moldovan mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Wo ...
in a heavyweight bout.
![Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Jacksonville_Veterans_Memorial_Arena.JPG)
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
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...
, 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 the event headliner.
The organization also announced that it would host two other events on
May 13
Events Pre-1600
*1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book '' Revelations of Divine Love''.
* 1501 – Amerigo Vespu ...
and
16, both in Jacksonville. The rest of the card featured the following fights:
*A women's strawweight bout between former
Invicta FC
Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...
and inaugural
UFC Women's Strawweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
Carla Esparza
Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Cham ...
and former
Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Michelle Waterson
Michelle Eileen Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and model who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Between 2013 and 2014, she was ranked the ...
. 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
Bryce Andrew Mitchell (born October 4, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mitchell appeared in the reality television series '' ...
and
Charles Rosa
Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Charles is of Italian descent and, the son of Chucky and Mar ...
. 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
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, as well as a heavyweight bout between former
UFC Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
Fabrício Werdum
Fabrício Werdum (; born 30 July 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Heavyweight Champion who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is also a 4-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Wor ...
and
Aleksei Oleinik
Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. He be ...
.
*A welterweight rematch between former
WEC and
UFC Lightweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
Anthony Pettis
Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...
and former lightweight title challenger
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...
. 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 later expected to be rescheduled for future cards included Hernandez vs. Morales, Vera vs. Borg, Worthy vs. Johnson and a women's bantamweight bout between
Sijara Eubanks
Sijara Jihan Eubanks (born April 27, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Eubanks was born and raised in Springfi ...
and
Sarah Moras
Sarah Ashley Moras (born 30 April 1988) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. Moras fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and she was a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Te ...
.
At the weigh-ins,
Jeremy Stephens
Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the UFC ...
weighed in at 150.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. He was fined 30% of his purse and his bout with
Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar (born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2007, Kattar formerly compet ...
proceeded at a catchweight. Additionally, a middleweight bout between former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza
Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the world s ...
and
Uriah Hall was cancelled after Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
*Performance of the Night: Justin Gaethje and Francis Ngannou
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Florida State Boxing Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $3,557,000.
* Justin Gaethje: $350,000 def. Tony Ferguson: $500,000
* Henry Cejudo: $350,000 def. Dominick Cruz: $300,000
* Francis Ngannou: $260,000 def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik: $80,000
* Calvin Kattar: $116,100 def. Jeremy Stephens: $46,900 ^
* Greg Hardy: $180,000 def. Yorgan de Castro: $12,000
* Anthony Pettis: $310,000 def. Donald Cerrone: $200,000
* Aleksei Oleinik: $160,000 def. Fabrício Werdum: $100,000
* Carla Esparza: $102,000 def. Michelle Waterson: $60,000
* Vicente Luque: $180,000 def. Niko Price: $57,000
* Bryce Mitchell: $54,000 def. Charles Rosa: $24,000
* Ryan Spann: $50,000 def. Sam Alvey: $65,000
^ ''Due to weighing in over the limit, 30% ($20,100) of Stephens' purse went to Kattar.''
Aftermath
During the broadcast, it was announced that former
UFC Welterweight and
Middleweight Champion Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...
would be inducted into the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Henry Cejudo announced his retirement immediately after his TKO victory over Dominick Cruz.
See also
*
List of UFC events
*
List of current UFC fighters
This list of current UFC fighters records current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters' information, country origins, recent fighter signings and departures, fight schedules and results and the champion of each division. , the UFC roster ...
*
2020 in UFC
The year 2020 was the 28th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Partnership
Starting in 2021, a partnership between the UFC and Dapper Labs's Flow platform ...
References
{{2020 in mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship events
2020 in mixed martial arts
2020 in sports in Florida
Events in Jacksonville, Florida
Mixed martial arts in Florida
Sports competitions in Jacksonville, Florida
May 2020 sports events in the United States
Sports events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic