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Dana White Says UFC 249 Is 'Probably The Best Card We've Had'

Dana White Says UFC 249 Is 'Probably The Best Card We've Had'

The UFC president is incredibly proud of the event he has managed to put together despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Dana White believes he has put together the best card in UFC history despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Having been forced to cancel the event on April 18 after pressure from Disney and ESPN, UFC have rearranged UFC 249 for May 9

After being deemed essential business by governor Ron DeSantis as long as "the location is closed to the general public", UFC 249 will take place behind closed doors at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida and is seriously stacked given the circumstances at the moment.

White has put on many great cards during his time as UFC's head honcho, including the incredible first event at Madison Square Garden for UFC 205 and the scary good UFC 100 event in 2009.

But he thinks the upcoming show - which features 12 bouts, two title fights and an exciting match-up between Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis on the prelims - has the potential to be something seriously special.

"From top to bottom, it's probably the best card we've ever had," White told TMZ Sports, via Middle Easy).

"The main event: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, which is a ridiculous fight. The co-main event is Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz. Ridiculous. Francis Ngannou vs. Jair Rozenstruik. Ridiculous.

"Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar, Greg Hardy and (Yorgan) de Castro, (Donald) 'Cowboy' Cerrone and Anthony Pettis, (Aleksei) Oleinik vs. (Fabricio) Werdum, Carla Esparza vs. 'The Karate Hottie' Michelle Waterson, Uriah Hall and Jacare Souza, (Vicente) Luque vs. (Niko) Price, Bryce Mitchell and Charles Rosa, Ryan Spann and Sam Alvey.

"Stupid card. Three-and-a-half hours of fights on ESPN, The prelims are three-and-a-half hours on ESPN. Then we go to pay-per-view."

You have to give White his kudos for his sheer determination to give fight fans their fix in these tough times and even though no fans can be in attendance to create an atmosphere, the feast of fighting should go a long way towards providing some escapism.

White has confirmed that two further UFC cards will be held on 13th May and 16th May, while he is also expecting his 'Fight Island' to be up and running by the time June rolls around.

There's even been some talk that Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz have their eagerly-anticipated third slugfest on the island.

The show is definitely going on...

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Topics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, UFC 249, Dana White

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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