While it may not be the original main event scheduled for UFC 249, Dana White has come through with a big-time replacement.
Top-ranked lightweight contender Tony Ferguson will fight No. 4 ranked Justin Gaethje for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of UFC 249, White announced Monday.
The event, which is set for April 18, was supposed to see UFC Lightweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, defend against Ferguson. Of course, the fight between those two was canceled for a fifth time as Nurmagomedov is unable to leave his home country of Russia due to travel restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 crisis.
So, in typical fashion, the UFC president found a stellar replacement for Nurmagomedov to make sure UFC 249 goes down without a hitch.
The fight is signed and is 100% ON LIVE on ESPN somewhere on EARTH!!!! 😃@TonyFergusonXT vs @Justin_Gaethje is LIVE on @espn+ PPV April 18th for the interim lightweight belt! pic.twitter.com/aH44zg5K30
— danawhite (@danawhite) April 6, 2020
Gaethje made it clear he is ready for the fight with a brief (NSFW) tweet.
Justin Gaethje says he's scared, but he's doing it for you. #UFC249 pic.twitter.com/Ne20Ec7yjK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 6, 2020
UFC 249 remains without an official location since the Barclays Center backed out due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, White promises that this fight will go down “somewhere on Earth” on the originally planned date.
