UFC 249 preview: Will Ferguson make it 13 straight wins?
Need-to-know info
Date: Saturday, May 9
Time: Early prelims - 6:30 p.m. ET
Prelims - 8:00 p.m.
Main Card - 10:00 p.m.
Venue: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville
TV: Prelims - ESPN (U.S.), TSN (Canada)
Main Card - Pay-per-view via ESPN+ (U.S.), Pay-per-view (Canada)
Ferguson vs. Gaethje - Interim Lightweight Title
Tony Ferguson will look to win his 13th straight fight when he battles Justin Gaethje for the promotion's interim lightweight title.
Ferguson (25-3) was initially scheduled to face 155-pound champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249 before travel restrictions due to the coronavirus kept "The Eagle" from flying to the U.S. The 36-year-old hasn't competed since June 2019 when he defeated Donald Cerrone by TKO at UFC 238.
Ferguson will have a six-inch reach advantage in this championship bout.
Gaethje (21-2) also defeated Cerrone in his last fight, stopping "Cowboy" in the first round at UFC Vancouver in September. "The Highlight" has won three straight fights by knockout after suffering back-to-back losses against Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier.
The 31-year-old has only gone the distance twice in his 23-fight career, so don't expect this title fight to hit the judges' scorecards.
Cejudo (c) vs. Cruz - Bantamweight title
Henry Cejudo will look to make the first defense of his 135-pound title when he faces former titleholder Dominick Cruz in the co-main event.
Cejudo (15-2) has been on the sidelines since June due to injuries. He last defeated Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 to capture the vacant bantamweight championship. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist boasts wins over former UFC title holders Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw.
Cruz (22-2) has been plagued by injuries, fighting just four times since 2012. The 35-year-old last competed against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 where he lost his bantamweight title. He was riding a 13-fight win streak prior to that setback.
"The Dominator" will have a four-inch height advantage over the champion. Cruz is replacing Jose Aldo in this title fight, with Aldo unable to leave Brazil due to travel restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik - Main card heavyweight bout
Former heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou looks to extend his winning streak to four straight when he battles Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a heavyweight matchup that's been rescheduled three times.
Ngannou (13-3) has finished each of his last three opponents by first-round knockout, including former champion Junior dos Santos at UFC Minneapolis. "The Predator" hasn't competed since June but boasts a 9-2 record in the Octagon.
Rozenstruik (10-0) made his UFC debut in February 2019 and has rattled off four straight knockout victories since. The 32-year-old is coming off a fifth-round TKO victory over former title challenger Alistair Overeem at UFC D.C., where he was arguably down on the judges' scorecards heading into the last round.
While both stand 6-foot-4, Ngannou has will have a five-inch reach advantage in this matchup.
Main Card
- Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje - Interim lightweight title
- Henry Cejudo (c) vs. Dominick Cruz - Bantamweight title
- Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik - Heavyweight
- Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar - Featherweight
- Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro - Heavyweight
Prelims
- Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis - Welterweight
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksei Oleinik - Heavyweight
- Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson - Strawweight
- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Uriah Hall - Middleweight
- Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price - Welterweight
- Charles Rosa vs. Bryce Mitchell - Featherweight
- Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey - Light Heavyweight