The Ultimate Fighting Championship has reportedly found a new home for its fourth pay-per-view event of the year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UFC 249 PPV event was forced to relocate from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York to a private island in Lemoore, California.
The fight card was expected to happen last Saturday but ESPN and Disney, the promotion’s broadcast partners, urged the UFC to cancel the event as the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to rise.
Days later, UFC president Dana White announced a super card that will go down on May 9 that will feature three title fights including the interim lightweight championship bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
It was then reported the stacked fight card will be known as UFC 249, with ‘The Sunshine State’ set to play as its host, following a recent order in Florida that opened the door for combat sports events.
New Location
While the company’s head honcho attempts to keep the location secret, a recent report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed the new venue for the May 9 card.
“Our Dave Meltzer reported that a source has told him that UFC 249 will be held at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The building has been around since 2003 and hosts a variety of sports events and concerts with a seating capacity of 15,000. The latter would be irrelevant for this event as no fans will be allowed in attendance,” the news outlet reported.
Earlier this month, Florida governor Ron DeSantis added ‘professional sports’ to the list of essential services that can resume operations “only if the location is closed to the general public.”
Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation said in a statement: “The [Florida State Boxing Commission] is prepared to regulate a professional sports production that is planned and executed in accordance with the conditions of the essential service approvals issued by the State Coordinating Officer.”
Here is targeted line up for the UFC 249 fight card:
Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje – for the interim lightweight title
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Souza
Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Belt News )