It appears as if UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje on May 9th may have a destination at last, with Florida now rumored to have been targeted by the promotion for the pay-per-view event.
That’s the word according to MMAFighting.com, who cite multiple sources with knowledge of the UFC’s plans, though nothing has officially been confirmed as yet and the exact venue for the show still remains unknown.
However, the report does claim that the plan is to first bring the fighters participating on the card to Jacksonville before heading to the location.
Recently White had appeared to be hopeful that their forthcoming events could take place at their own APEX facility in Las Vegas, but the fact that Florida has publicly stated that it intends to green-light sporting events behind-closed-doors may well have convinced them it was the best option.
The order from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had declared that essential workers and services would include, “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production — only if the location is closed to the general public.”
The Florida State Boxing Commission has also confirmed that they are, “prepared to regulate a professional sports production that is planned and executed in accordance with the conditions of the essential service approvals issued by the State Coordinating Officer.”