While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was targeting a lightweight bout between former interim
UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier and
Dan Hooker to serve as the event headliner. However, it was reported on April 8 that the main event was expected to be a heavyweight bout between the
2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, former
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and
UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger
Alistair Overeem and
Walt Harris. The pairing was previously scheduled to headline
UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik on December 7, 2019 but Harris pulled out of the fight in early November, citing the disappearance and
death of his stepdaughter in her home state of
Alabama. They were later booked to headline
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris on April 11, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Punahele Soriano was expected to face
Anthony Hernandez at the event. However, Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. Hernandez instead faced
Kevin Holland. Due to
travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Brazilian fighters were unable to compete due to visa issues at the original event – Lara Procópio (who was expected to face
Cortney Casey in a women's flyweight bout), former
KSW Women's Flyweight Champion Ariane Lipski and Luana Carolina (who were expected to meet at the same weight).
COVID-19 pandemic The event was originally expected to take place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The event was officially removed from California on April 20. On April 24, the UFC confirmed the new UFC 249 for May 9 in Jacksonville,
Florida, along with two other events on
May 13 and 16 for the same location. The UFC confirmed on May 1 that Overeem and Harris would headline this event, to be broadcast on
ESPN. It included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts: Mike Davis was scheduled to face
Giga Chikadze at the event. However, Davis was removed from the card on May 14 and replaced by promotional newcomer
Irwin Rivera. ==Results==