By all accounts, UFC 249 was a success, and we thank you so much for your interest and coverage of a night of non-stop action and incredible performances. It was record-breaking on so many levels.
Justin Gaethje took Tony Ferguson into the championship rounds and earned the interim lightweight title with the referee’s stoppage/TKO at 3:39 of round 5
Justin Gaethje said,
“I haven’t had time to soak it in. I can’t wait to watch the fight, I was so good tonight. I truly just believed in my skills and in my coaches and what a great time I just had. It was a great challenge and I’m very happy right now, I can’t wait to go home and see my family. I know how much happiness I just brought to people and that feels great. I don’t have any expectations when I step in there, just be my best self and I was good tonight. My timing is incredible, my coaches were incredible and I was incredible tonight. This is what I was born, raised bred to do. You get one life and I’m living a crazy one and it’s so awesome. I can’t wait for that challenge, win or lose, I’m going to give it 100% and have one hell of a time.”
World bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo added a win over another legend to his record with a TKO of Dominick Cruz at 4:58 of round 2. In his post fight interview, he gave a surprising announcement.
Henry Cejudo said,
“If I couldn’t beat Dominick, I’m not going to beat those other guys. I was pretty confident in the fact that I was going to get the victory, but even if I were to lose, I’d be like I’m done, I’m not going to the back of the line. Ultimately, I want to leave on top. I think that’s every fighter’s dream, but nobody ever really does it. Georges St-Pierre doesn’t have two belts like me. He retired, but he didn’t have two belts, I do. All due respect to the legend. When you combined what I’ve done in the sports world in general, you’ve got to put out there as the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. Olympic champ, flyweight champ and bantamweight champ, and I defended both titles. I’m happy, I’m satisfied. Listen to your ability and listen to your heart. If your heart is able to match your ability, that’s when you become the 1% of the 1%.”
Post fight bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
Performances of the Night: Justin Gaethje, Francis Ngannou
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
It was only a matter of time. Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, Modern Wing. Considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, GSP’s prowess in two-division dominance and his humble demeanor earned him the hearts and minds of fans worldwide.
Georges St-Pierre said,
“It’s a great honor to be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame. I want to thank Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, Dana White and the entire UFC team, my family, my coaches and teammates, my past collaborators, my opponents and of course, all UFC fans. It’s been an amazing journey, without them none of this would have been possible.”
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Harris
On May 17 (Asia time), the Octagon will play host to a heavyweight showdown between #9 Walt Harris and #8 Alistair Overeem, as well as a strawweight matchup between #6 Claudia Gadelha and the entertaining Angela Hill.
Virtual Media Day will be held on Friday, May 15, starting at 12am Shanghai time. To register, click on the link: UFC Fight Night Virtual Media Day WebEx Invite. Upon approval, you will receive an email with a link to join the meeting. Participants will need to register on WebEx by 9am Shanghai time, Thursday, May 14.
Once again, post fight interview opportunities will be available. To register, please click: UFC Fight Night Virtual Post-Fight Availability WebEx Invite. Upon approval, you will receive an email with a link to join the meeting. Participants will need to register on WebEx by 9 am Shanghai time, Saturday, May 16.
For regular updates, follow the event page: https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-may-16-2020.
UFC 250
In the next championship match, women’s pound-for-pound queen Amanda Nunes will defend her featherweight title against former Invicta FC champion Felicia Spenser. Nunes is the two-division dominant champion who holds the bantamweight belt as well. Spenser is a Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt finisher who has the skills to make this a competitive and compelling title fight.
Other bouts announced include:
- Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield vs Devin Clark
- Middleweight: #13 Ian Heinisch vs Gerald Meerschaert
- Flyweight: #3 Jussier Formiga vs #9 Alex Perez
- Middleweight: Charles Byrd vs Maki Pitolo
The date, location and remaining bouts will be revealed soon.
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira
Thursday, May 14
The next event takes place on May 14 (Asia time) with UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira. In the main event of the Thursday morning card, it’s a clash of light heavyweight contenders, as #3 ranked Anthony Smith faces off with #8 ranked Glover Teixeira. In the co-main event, Ovince Saint Preux makes his heavyweight debut against Ben Rothwell. Plus, long time fan favorite Andrei Arlovski takes on Philipe Lins, and showstopper Michael Johnson meets Thiago Moises.
There will be post-fight interview opportunities with winners. Main and co-main event athletes will be available upon the event’s conclusion on Thursday, May 14, starting at 6 am Shanghai time. Click to register here: UFC Fight Night Virtual Post-Fight Availability WebEx Invite. You will use the same link to join the event. Participants will need to register on WebEx by 9:00 a.m. Shanghai time on Wednesday, May 13.
Please see the attached media kit and event materials to assist in your coverage of UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira. If you would like any other fighter bios or information, please let me know.
For regular updates, follow the event page: https://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-may-13-2020.
Live broadcast, May 14, Thursday:
International: UFC Fight Pass https://ufcfightpass.com/live/136388
Singapore, SEA: Fox Sports Asia https://tv.foxsportsasia.com/
China: BesTV, PPTV http://sports.pptv.com/sportslive?sectionid=171899&matchid=
Japan: Wowow https://www.wowow.co.jp/sports/ufc/info/detail_200114.html
South Korea: SpoTV http://www.spotvon.co.kr/P/index.asp
Further broadcasts and broadcast information in Asia:
India: Sony TEN 2 https://www.sonypicturessportsnetwork.com/schedule/SonyTEN2/today
Indonesia: TV One https://www.facebook.com/tvOneNews/ https://www.viva.co.id/tvone/live
Mongolia: SPS HD TV http://www.zuragt.mn/sport/?date=2020-01-19
Philippines: TV 5 ESPN http://tv5.com.ph/schedule
Thailand: RS Channel 8 https://www.thaich8.com/schedule_detail/43
