3:47 PM ET The manager for former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas says she withdrew from UFC 249 due to two deaths in the family related to coronavirus. “Her hopes are to return to the Octagon as soon as possible but for now we ask for people to respect their privacy during this time,”
MMA
6:03 PM ET UFC 249 will not proceed on April 18 despite UFC president Dana White’s efforts to move forward with the pay-per-view event. All other UFC events have also been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Today, we got a call from the highest level you can go at Disney, and the highest
Apr 9, 2020 We may not get to see Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje square off on April 18 due to the postponement of UFC 249, but we can check out a number of their best fights on ESPN2 this Saturday night. MMA fans will be able to enjoy seven straight hours of action Saturday
9:00 AM ET “We literally met with every network, every sports network — from the big broadcasters, NBC, ABC, CBS, the obvious, ESPN — multiple times,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, the CEO of the UFC in 2004. “Met with anybody that would take a meeting. We couldn’t get anybody to bite because everybody was very concerned
9:24 PM ET Brett Okamoto Close ESPN Staff Writer MMA columnist for ESPN.com Analyst for “MMA Live” Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun Marc Raimondi The UFC is pressing forward with its UFC 249 pay-per-view event on April 18, just as the promotion’s president Dana White had promised. Of course, there have been significant changes
6:40 PM ET The repackaged UFC 249 card is down a big name. Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is out of her scheduled co-main event bout with Jessica Andrade on April 18 for undisclosed reasons, ESPN confirmed Wednesday with sources. The card, which was fully formed earlier this week after coronavirus-related scheduled shuffling,
1:42 PM ET Sal D’Amato was sitting in the airport lounge, getting ready to board a flight to return to the United States just hours after the conclusion of UFC Brasilia — the promotion’s empty-arena event on March 14 in Brazil’s capital city. D’Amato, who is one of the most active mixed martial arts judges
7:36 PM ET UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje says he’ll have “18-to-19 minutes of pure hell” for Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18, adding that he’s confident that will be enough to get it done. Gaethje (21-2) has agreed to face Ferguson (25-3) at an undisclosed location, on short notice. The 31-year-old has notoriously
12:37 PM ET UFC 249 will go on as planned on April 18, although it will look a little different than originally scheduled as a heavyweight bout with massive championship implications has been added. The coronavirus pandemic, which has effectively shut down the sports world, forced the UFC to move the card from Brooklyn to
11:18 AM ET LAS VEGAS — UFC president Dana White is so committed to resuming operations in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, he has secured a private island to host events. White told ESPN on Monday he has secured a location in the U.S. to host UFC 249 on April 18, which will