After more than a month of uncertainty, fight week is once again upon us.
Narrated by Ron Perlman, the UFC 249 pay-per-view opener bypasses the drama of attempting to hold an event during the coronavirus pandemic and instead focuses on a more simple narrative: “Tonight, the UFC is back.”
Set for VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, UFC 249 marks the first event held by the Las Vegas-based promotion since March 14. The card is headlined by an interim lightweight championship clash between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, and also features a bantamweight title tilt pitting Henry Cejudo against Dominick Cruz in the co-main event.
“The old saying is to always be ready, to pick up the phone when there’s a call to action. And who better to answer the bell than the human highlight reel himself,” Perlman says of Gaethje, who accepted the fight on short notice after reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was stranded in Russia.
“El Cucuy, a monstrous cloud over the lightweight division, a ransacker of wills,” Perlman says of Ferguson, who will attempt to become a two-time interim champion and enters the contest on a 12-fight winning streak.
The UFC 249 main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. ET.