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In the first major sporting event since most of society was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC 249 will be held Saturday night in Jacksonville, Fla.

The fight card, with prelims airing on ESPN and the main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view, will proceed under tight access. All participants will get multiple tests, no fans will be allowed at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, and there will be none of the usual histrionics such as pre-fight stare-downs and the post-fight, in-cage interviews.



For fans who have been waiting to see fights since the UFC’s last event on March 14, the company presents a deep show headlined by a pair of potentially outstanding title fights.

In the main event, Tony Ferguson of Ventura, Calif., meets Phoenix’s Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight championship. The 36-year-old Ferguson (25-3) was originally slated to meet current lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the latter had to withdraw due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions in his native Russia.

The replacement fight, however, features two of MMA’s most exciting competitors. Ferguson has won 12 fights in a row going back seven years. Gaethje (21-2) was considered a popular brawler, win or lose, but the 31-year-old has really come into his own recently and won his past three bouts via first-round knockouts.

The two have combined to earn 15 Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses in their past 15 bouts.

The co-feature matchup also has the makings of a good one. Phoenix’s Henry Cejudo, a 2008 Olympic wrestling gold medalist who has held the UFC bantamweight and flyweight title, competes for the first time since vacating the latter belt in order to concentrate on the former.

The 33-year-old Cejudo (15-2) meets the competitor widely considered the best 135-pounder in the sport’s history, two-time former champ Dominick Cruz of San Diego.

It’s an intriguing style matchup, as Cejudo deftly mixes wrestling and an underrated boxing game. The big question mark is whether the 35-year-old Cruz (22-2), who has been out three years due to various injuries, can maintain the trademark footwork and movement that marked his prime.



–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)