A
UFC Lightweight Championship bout between the champion
Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion
Tony Ferguson (also
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner) was slated to headline this event. The bout was cancelled for a fifth time due to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic
(see section below). was expected to make the third defense of his
UFC Lightweight Championship at this event, but had to pull out due to
travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A featherweight bout between
Jeremy Stephens and
Calvin Kattar was expected to take place at
UFC 248. However, Stephens was removed from the card in mid-January with an injury. The pairing was rescheduled for this event. A heavyweight bout between
Shamil Abdurakhimov and
Ciryl Gane was scheduled for the event. However, it was announced on March 5 that Gane was forced to pull out of the event after he was struck by a
pneumothorax in training and the bout was eventually scrapped. A welterweight bout between former
Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good and
Belal Muhammad was scheduled for this event. The pairing was previously expected to meet at
UFC 205 in November 2016, but Good was pulled from that event after being notified by the
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) due to a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test. However, Good pulled out due to injury on April 4 and the bout was scrapped. It was announced on April 20 that Good actually
tested positive for COVID-19, being the first fighter to publicly acknowledge the fact. A women's strawweight rematch between former
UFC Women's Strawweight Champions Jéssica Andrade and
Rose Namajunas was expected to co-headline the event. The pairing previously met at
UFC 237 in May 2019, where Andrade won via second round TKO to capture the title. However, Namajunas pulled out on April 8 for personal reasons, with her manager citing a pair of deaths in the family related to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.
COVID-19 pandemic – the April 18 date is postponed On March 12, New York
governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order restricting mass gatherings and sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four days later, UFC president
Dana White announced via a letter to employees shared to the public that this event "is still scheduled as planned, but the location may change". On March 18, the
New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) announced that the event would not be sanctioned to take place at the event's original site, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. On March 23, White revealed that he already had a new location for this event, but would only confirm that it will be held
behind closed doors. White subsequently added on March 25 that the card could feature a different lineup, depending on the logistics.
Khabib Nurmagomedov stated on March 30 that he was in
Dagestan and his participation at the event could be jeopardized due to
travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated on April 1 that he would probably not be competing at the event and reinforced that people should be in quarantine anyhow. He later confirmed that he would compete if a location was given and they were able to move him there, but did not see it happening. in
Lemoore, California is located on land owned by the
Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the
Santa Rosa Indian Community, the event did not fall under the jurisdiction of the
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) and their ban on combat sports events through the end of May. The UFC announced on April 6 that Nurmagomedov would be replaced by former
WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje, with an interim title to be disputed between him and
Tony Ferguson. The rest of the card also underwent changes, with the following fights being added as well: • A heavyweight bout between former
UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger
Francis Ngannou and
Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The bout was originally scheduled to headline
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik on March 28, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. • A heavyweight bout between
Greg Hardy and
Yorgan De Castro; the bout was originally scheduled for
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. • A welterweight rematch between
Vicente Luque and
Niko Price; both fighters were expected to face different opponents at
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. They first met at
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida in October 2017, where Luque won via second round submission. •
Islam Makhachev was expected to face
Alexander Hernandez in a lightweight bout, but was removed from the event due to travel restrictions and replaced by
Omar Morales. • A bantamweight bout between
Marlon Vera and former
UFC Flyweight Championship challenger
Ray Borg; Vera was expected to compete against a different opponent at
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. •
Ottman Azaitar was expected to face
Khama Worthy in a lightweight bout, but was removed from the event due to travel restrictions and replaced by
Michael Johnson. • A light heavyweight bout between
Ryan Spann and
Sam Alvey; Alvey was expected to compete against a different opponent at
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. A light heavyweight bout between
Magomed Ankalaev and
Ion Cuțelaba (a rematch from their meeting at
UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo) was removed. The fight was rescheduled and took place at
UFC 254. The following fights were removed from the event and were never rescheduled for future cards: On April 7, Secretary of the
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Halsey Beshears made a post on
Twitter, offering to help sanction and host UFC events in the state. It was later revealed that the event was expected to take place at
Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in
Lemoore, California, the site of several events for the defunct
World Extreme Cagefighting and
Tachi Palace Fights promotions. On April 9, White announced that this event would not take place as scheduled and all other UFC events would be suspended until further notice, citing interventions from high-ranking staff of the UFC's U.S. media rightsholders,
ESPN Inc. and parent
The Walt Disney Company. It was later revealed that the 40th governor of
California,
Gavin Newsom, influenced the decision of cancelling the event.
May 9 – a new date is set for the event The promotion originally planned
UFC 250 to take place at
Ginásio do Ibirapuera in
São Paulo, Brazil on May 9. On April 7, it was announced that the venue would be used as a
field hospital during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and would not be able to host the fight card. A
UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between the current champion
Henry Cejudo (also former
UFC Flyweight Champion and
2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling) and former
WEC and two-time
UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo was expected to serve as that event's headliner. However, Aldo withdrew on April 8 due to
visa issues as the event was expected to be moved to the United States. While not officially announced by the promotion at the time, former two-time bantamweight champion
Dominick Cruz (who hadn't fought since December 2016) was expected to replace him. A
UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current champion
Amanda Nunes (also the current
UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former
Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Felicia Spencer was expected to serve as the co-headliner. Nunes announced on April 20 that she would not compete on this date due to her desire to have a full training camp. Due to the event being expected to be relocated to the United States, several changes were made due to fighters being unable to compete due to visa issues: • A light heavyweight bout between the former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also
2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and
Antônio Rogério Nogueira was cancelled. The pairing previously met at
PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and
UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights. •
Ketlen Vieira, who was expected to face
Marion Reneau in a women's bantamweight bout. • Former bantamweight title challenger
Bethe Correia, who was expected to face
Pannie Kianzad in a women's bantamweight bout. •
Augusto Sakai, who was expected to face former
WSOF Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov in a heavyweight bout. •
Carlos Felipe, who was expected to face
Sergey Spivak in a heavyweight bout. hosted the much anticipated return of the UFC amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. They confirmed the new card on April 24, with the Ferguson vs. Gaethje bout still scheduled to serve as the event headliner. The organization also announced that it would host two other events on
May 13 and
16, both in Jacksonville. The rest of the card featured the following fights: • A featherweight bout between
Bryce Mitchell and
Charles Rosa. The bout was originally scheduled for
UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman a week earlier. • Bouts already scheduled for the original UFC 250 event on May 9 – the previously mentioned
UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, as well as a heavyweight bout between former
UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabrício Werdum and
Aleksei Oleinik. • A welterweight rematch between former
WEC and
UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and former lightweight title challenger
Donald Cerrone. The pairing previously met in a lightweight bout at
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson in January 2013, where Pettis won via first round knockout. Fights that were originally expected to take place at this event on April 18, but later expected to be rescheduled for future cards included Hernandez vs. Morales, Vera vs. Borg, Worthy vs. Johnson and a women's bantamweight bout between
Sijara Eubanks and
Sarah Moras. Additionally, a middleweight bout between former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza and
Uriah Hall was cancelled after Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. ==Results==