UFC - The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

I have some great news for sports fans out there, especially MMA fans. The hiatus appears to be short-lived, at least for UFC festivities. UFC President Dana White told ESPN a few days ago that he has three upcoming events scheduled to take place in an eight-day period. UFC 249 is presumed to kick off the trio of events, beginning May 9th. The other two booked cards are scheduled for May 13th and May 16th. White hinted at a future card for May 23rd, although he didn't disclose a venue for this event.

These events, or at least the next three, will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, and it will be with an empty stadium and no fans. Barring any changes, UFC 249's card should be a fun one, although it won't feature the long-awaited Khabib versus Ferguson bout. Instead, the interim lightweight championship fight featuring Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, which was supposed to be the main event before UFC 249 was postponed, will still headline the event.

The winner of the Ferguson/Gaethje fight will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is planning to return between September and October. However, this bout is only the tip of the iceberg. The prelim card will be headed by an exciting fight between former champion Anthony "Showtime" Pettis and veteran Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, which should be on the main card in my opinion.

UFC 249's prelims will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ starting at 6:30 PM ET on May 9th. The "pay-per-view" will be aired on ESPN+ and is scheduled to begin at approximately 10 PM ET. ESPN released a statement about these fights saying, "Sports play an important role in people's lives and can bring moments of escape in challenging times. We look forward to bringing UFC to fans again."

All of this is possible since the state of Florida deemed that professional sports and media production with a national audience were essential services, and I'm glad that they did. This gives me a glimmer of hope that the cards are about to turn and that the return of sports is coming sooner rather than later. Regardless of when other sports return, not enough props are being given to White. He's been fighting tooth and nail to bring us UFC events, and it appears as though his efforts may be working.