It's fight night! UFC 249 is set for Saturday night, and two Arizona natives are on the main card: Tucson's Dominick Cruz and Safford's Justin Gaethje.
Nicknamed "The Dominator," Cruz (22-2) — who last fought in 2016 — will look to recapture the bantamweight title from Henry Cejudo (15-2), a Phoenix-based fighter. ESPN+ will air the main card as part of a pay-per-view package.
UFC 249 was originally scheduled for April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The COVID-19 pandemic forced UFC Dana White to move the event to VyStar Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Cejudo was initially scheduled to fight Jose Aldo, but Brazil's travel restrictions prevented Aldo from leaving the country.
The UFC event is limited to fighters and coaches, all of whom have undergone COVID-19 testing leading up to the event. Ronaldo Souza was pulled from his bout with Uriah Hall in after testing positive.
"It's surreal," Suzette Howe, Cruz's mother, told the Star on Saturday via telephone from Florida. "The amount of precautions they're taking here to make everyone good — all the fighters had to be tested. The buzz is crazy hot. We all have to stay separated, which is very hard for teams to do. But everyone is doing their best. ... I'm not allowed to go in. They're being very critical of who enters the facility."
Cruz, a Flowing Wells High School graduate, has dealt with a slew of injuries since UFC 207 in 2016, including plantar fascia tendinitis, a broken arm and shoulder injury.
"He's ready. I'm very excited for him. This is his third title comeback over all these years. ... He's ready to come in and do it again," Howe said.
The Star's Alec White interviews Adia Barnes and Salvo Coppa from Arizona women's basketball on the death of Kobe Bryant. Barnes first met Bryant in 1999 and Coppa knew Kobe's father from coaching overseas.
Gaethje, whose family owns Morenci copper mine, will face Tony Ferguson in the main event, which is expected to begin at 9 p.m.
UFC 249 prelims begin at 5 p.m, with the main card beginning at 7 p.m.
Here's a look at the fight card:
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje (Interim lightweight title)
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz (Bantamweight title)
Francis Ngannou vs. Jair Rozenstruik (Heavyweight)
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens (Featherweight)
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro (Heavyweight)
Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone (Welterweight)
Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price (Welterweight)
Fabricio Werdum vs. Aleksei Oleinik (Heavyweight)
Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson (Women's strawweight)
Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa (Featherweight)
Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey (Light heavyweight)
