Tony Ferguson to Square Off Against Justin Gaethje in UFC 249 Main Event

Published on April 6th, 2020 4:44 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


We've got a main event.

UFC President Dana White seems to be on the verge of pulling off the nearly impossible - pushing ahead with UFC 249.

The bad news? Khabib Nurmagomedov is stuck in Russia (closed borders) and won't be participating.

The good news? Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje have both stepped up and have agreed to fight each other on April 18th.

No location has yet been named for the event, though there are rumours that it will be taking place on the West Coast of the United States, likely on tribal lands (which would negate the need for government sanctioning).

The winner of this fight will almost certainly get the next shot at Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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Tony Ferguson has opened as the betting favourite at sports books - here is what a major offshore book has the fight listed at as of this moment:

Justin Gaethje, +135
Tony Ferguson, -175

This means that Ferguson is a moderate favourite to win.

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Assuming that the rest of the planned main card goes ahead, here are those betting odds:

Jessica Andrade, +200
Rose Namajunas, -240

Calvin Kattar, -275
Jeremy Stephens, +235

Ronaldo Souza, -145
Uriah Hall, +125

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This card will almost certainly take place in an empty arena.

This card will be a PPV - given the lack of sports right now in the world, this event may end up securing a very strong buy number, even with the absence of Khabib in the main event.