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UFC 249 Live: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje tops UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida (Image: GETTY)
The fourth UFC pay-per-event card of the year will take place behind closed doors at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Topping the bill will be an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, with the winner of the contest winning a unification fight against the undisputed 155-pound champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
- Former male bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will return from a nearly four-year layoff to face current division ruler Henry Cejudo.
- Fan favorite Donald Cerrone, who was last in action in January against Conor McGregor, will also be in action on the undercard, cheating on him with former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
- Follow all the live action and reaction to the first UFC card in the next two months.
UFC 249 Live – 03:20 am – Here we go
Hardy and de Castro are in the octagon. Let’s see who borders this heavy hitter battle.
UFC 249 Live – 03:05 am – Let the main card begin
The pay-per-view part of UFC 249 is about to begin. The start of the main card is a heavyweight fight between former NFL star Greg Hardy and forceful Yorgan de Castro.
All I have to say is, don’t blink, folks.
UFC 249 LIve: Donald Cerrone lands a big right uppercut on Anthony Pettis (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Live – 03:00 am – Another loss for Cerrone
Despite making a stellar display, Cerrone suffered his fourth consecutive loss, which was courtesy of a unanimous decision verdict.
‘Cowboy’ had its moments in the fight and arguably improved surprising exchanges. However, his work did not impress the judges enough, as the officials scored the fight 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in Pettis’ favor.
UFC 249 Live – 02:52 am – An entertaining fight so far
As expected, this rematch between Cerrone and Pettis has been completely fascinating. Cerrone is much more relaxed than he was in his fight with McGregor in January, although he is second best in surprising exchanges.
Pettis is doing a beautiful job mixing his punches, in particular feint kicks and hard punches.
One more round to go here. Hopefully we get more of the same.
UFC 249 Live – 02:41 am – It’s cowboy time
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone is back for the first time since he lost his UFC 246 matchup to Conor McGregor in January. Cowboy is currently playing horns with former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, whom he lost in January 2013.
Can the future Hall of Fame member avenge that loss and return to the win column? We will soon find out.
UFC 249 Live – 02:33 am – No happy return for Vai Cavalo
Despite his impressive second round and his early appearance in the third, Werdum was unable to impress the judges enough to make a winning return to the cage.
The contest was scored 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in Oleinik’s favor, a scorecard that few can argue with.
UFC 249 Live: Donald Cerrone heads to the Octagon with his cowboy hat (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Live – 02:25 am – A much better round for the former champion
Werdum seemed to wake up between rounds, getting better performance in the second. I have this each going to the third. Everything to play for now.
If I were Fabrizio, I would close the distance and cancel Oleinik’s shot. I’m sure your coaches will have given you the same advice.
UFC 249 Live – 02:20 am – Werdum is fighting
Ring oxide has really beaten Fabricio Werdum. He looks slow, slow and unable to handle the rhythm that is being set. That’s not surprising given his two years away from the cage.
Let’s see how he does in the second round.
UFC 249 Live – 02:10 am – The return of Vai Cavalo
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is about to return to the cage. Werdum has been on the sidelines since March 2018 due to a USADA anti-doping violation.
The jiu-jitsu phenomenon will be welcomed back into the cage by fighting partner Alexey Oleynik. As a big fan of matchups, I can’t wait for these to come to that.
Hopefully both men seek to assert their dominance on the floor from the start.
UFC 249 Live – 02:00 am – Esparza receives the go-ahead
Former UFC strawweight queen Carla Esparza received the go-ahead against Michelle Waterson, and the judges awarded her a split decision victory.
The judges scored the contest 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, which was a strange scorecard for me, as Waterson clearly won the second round.
Waterson has now lost his last two and has serious work on his hands to return to the title race.
UFC 249 Live: Fabricio Werdum looks on before his first fight in over two years (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Live – 1:50 am – A close fight so far
None of the women so far has been able to assert their dominance in the contest. Esparza, however, stole a takedown at the end of the first round, which could well have stolen the stanza.
UFC 249 Live – 01:35 am – We moved to the strawweight division
The next step is a female strawweight fight between former Invicta FC champions Carla Esparza and Michelle Waterson.
This fight is central to both women’s hopes of moving up the ranks, so expect both fighters to do their best to earn the W.
UFC 249 Live: Carla Esparza and Michelle Waterson exchange blows (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Live – 01:30 am – The doctor stops him
The doctor considered that Niko Price could not continue due to a highly inflamed left eye, which was completely closed.
The correct call from the referee, which has saved ‘The Hybrid’ from receiving more unnecessary punishments.
UFC 249 Live – 01:21 am – As advertised, this fight has been a war
This rematch has lived up to its turnover. Both men have been successful on the feet and have hurt the other.
Two turns down, one to go. Let’s see if the couple can maintain this relentless rhythm.
UFC 249 Live: Niko Price’s right eye closed completely after a beating from Vicente Luque (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Live – 01:10 am – Welterweights on deck
A welterweight rematch between Vicente Luque and Niko Price is currently in progress.
Highly promoted Luque, who lost his last outing against Stephen Thompson, won the couple’s first meeting in October 2017 through a second-round presentation.
Can Price take revenge on the Brazilian? We will soon find out.
UFC 249 Live – 1:00 am – Another victory in the books for Micthell
As expected, Bryce Mitchell scores a wide unanimous decision victory, with the judges scoring the contest 30-25, 30-25, 30-24 in his favor.
A completely impressive performance by ‘Thug Nasty’, which made the Brazilian pink jiu-jitsu black belt look like a blue belt.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for him.
UFC 249 Live: Bryce Mitchell celebrates his victory over Chares Rosa (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 LIVE – 0:50 am – All ‘Thug Nasty’
This has been a dominant performance by Bryce Mitchell. He repeatedly knocked Rosa down as he pleased and cut his guard like a hot knife through the butter.
Mitchell’s struggle, in particular, the ease with which he has transitioned between submission attempts has been a real sight to behold.
This will be a great victory for the Arkansas native if he continues this way.
UFC 249 LIVE – 0:40 am – We moved to the featherweight division
A 145-pound showdown is currently taking place between Bryce Mitchell and Charles Rosa.
DWCS alumnus Mitchell will fight for the first time since his incredible victory at the Twister presentation late last year.
This fight is a fan’s dream. Hopefully, we see a lot of takedowns and transitions. That is what we all want to see.
UFC 249 Live: Bryce Mitchell tries a Twister on Charles Rosa (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 LIVE – 0:30 am – Our fight is on the books
Ryan Spann has had four straight wins with a split decision victory over veteran Sam Alvey.
Superman overcame a hard-fought contest by split decision, surviving a late ‘Smilin’ bombardment to win the contest 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
He may not have been impressed with his performance, but Spann will be delighted to have kept his momentum in the 205-pound stacked division.
UFC 249 LIVE – 0:10 am – The UFC is back, folks!
After almost a two-month hiatus, the main mixed martial arts promotion returns to action. The start of the UFC 249 preliminaries is a light heavyweight title fight between Ryan Spann and Sam Alvey.
This is a great fight for Dana White’s Contenders series alumni, who have been on a streak since graduating from the show and entering promotion. This should be good, friends.
UFC 249 Live: Ryan Spann tries to take down Sam Alvey (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Main Card Odds (Courtesy of OHM Bet UK)
Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje – Ferguson: 52/100 – Gaethje: 8/5
Henry Cejudo vs Dominick Cruz – Cejudo 46/100 – Cruz: 17/10
Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Ngannou: 11/4 – Rozenstruik: 10/21
Calvin Kattar vs Jeremy Stephen – 11/4 – Stephens: 85/40
Greg Hardy vs Yorgan De Castro – Hardy: 46/100 – De Castro: 10/17
UFC 249: Tony Ferguson will attempt to become two-time interim lightweight champion this morning (Image: GETTY)
UFC 249 Fight Card
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje (interim lightweight title fight)
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz (men’s bantamweight title fight)
Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight bout)
Jeremy Stephens vs Calvin Kattar (men’s featherweight bout)
Greg Hardy vs Yorgan de Castro (heavyweight bout)
Preliminary
Donald Cerrone vs Anthony Pettis (welterweight bout)
Alexey Oleynik vs Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight bout)
Carla Esparza vs Michelle Waterson (female strawweight bout)
Vicente Luque vs Niko Price (welterweight bout)
Bryce Mitchell vs Charles Rosa (men’s featherweight bout)
Ryan Spann vs Sam Alvey (light heavyweight bout)
