There was another setback on the road to UFC 249 with the news that former UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has withdrawn from her co-main event bout with fellow former champ Jessica Andrade.
The event, which was originally set to take place at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, and feature the long-awaited UFC lightweight title clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, has suffered a host of setbacks stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
While the UFC's events team have had to work around the clock to secure a new location for the event amid the ever-tightening restrictions during the coronavirus lockdown, the organization's matchmakers have had to chop and change the fight card on multiple occasions due to fights falling through during the unprecedented global health situation.
Incredibly, no fewer than NINE fights have been scrapped in the course of organizing UFC 249:
Most notably, the title fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, which had been booked four times previously, eventually fell through for the FIFTH time with Khabib stuck in Dagestan and unable to travel to the West Coast of the United States, where the event is reportedly set to take place.
Ferguson, however, remains on the card and will now take on Justin Gaethje in the newly-booked main event. The winner will be crowned the new UFC interim lightweight champion and will get a crack at Khabib once the coronavirus lockdown is over. Khabib's manager said his client would be ready to fight the winner in early August.
The co-main event was set to feature a rematch between former UFC women's strawweight champions Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas but, in the most recent setback to the card, Namajunas has since withdrawn from the matchup for undisclosed reasons leaving Andrade, at the time of writing, without an opponent.
It remains to be seen whether the UFC will draft in another fighter to replace "Thug" Rose, but one name already linked to the matchup is Angela Hill, who went the distance with Andrade in a losing effort back in 2017. Hill is currently in the best run of form of her career and is riding a three-fight win streak. Don't be surprised if she's added to the card in the coming days.
Lightweight new boy Khama Worthy made a big impression on his UFC debut and was set to return against Ottman Azaitar, but with Azaitar unable to travel, Worthy now finds himself facing bigger-name opposition in the form of lightweight veteran Michael "The Menace" Johnson.
New Yorker Gian Villante's move up to heavyweight to face Ben Rothwell was expected to deliver a fan-friendly slugfest, but both men are now off the card, as are fellow heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Shamil Abdurakhimov, who are both European-based and unable to travel to the States.
Welterweight veterans Lyman Good and Belal Muhammad's 170-pound clash was scratched from the card due for more familiar reasons, with Good picking up an injury during training camp, while a trio of fights featuring Russian stars has also been ruled out.
Umar Nurmagomedov's UFC debut against Contender Series alum Hunter Azure is off, while Islam Makhachev's fight with Alexander Hernandez has also been scrapped. Hernandez will remain on the card and will fight Contender Series graduate and undefeated Venezuelan, Omar Morales.
Finally, the eagerly-anticipated light-heavyweight rematch between Moldova's Ion Cutelaba and Russia's in-form Magomed Ankalaev has been shelved due to travel restriction issues.
It was also believed that a featherweight contender fight between Brian Ortega and Russia's Zabit Magomedsharipov was being lined up for the event, but was never officially booked, and will not be a part of the card.
Given the long list of scrapped fights above, it's remarkable that the event is still going ahead. But clearly matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard have been working around the clock to not just keep the event alive, but also to put together a card packed with exciting matchups, despite all of the restrictions and cancellations they've had to deal with.
UFC 249 FIGHT CARD
- Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje (UFC interim lightweight title)
- Jessica Andrade vs. TBC
- Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
- Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
- Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
- Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza vs. Uriah Hall
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Omar Morales
- Ray Borg vs. Marlon Vera
- Michael Johnson vs. Khama Worthy
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
- Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey