UFC 249 Could Provide the Hope the Sports World Needs

UFC 249 will take place on Saturday night and there is widespread debate on whether the even should even be happening. But maybe this will provide the path that the sports world needs to move forward.

It's no secret that UFC President Dana White likes to take chances and push the envelope. During the first few weeks that the Coronavirus pandemic hit, White was still insisting on running his events. While those were ultimately postponed, the opportunity to run UFC 249 popped up with the state of Florida opening up the chance.

So what do you do when you have the opportunity to be the first major sports organization to pull through on a show? You stack the card.

UFC 249 is highlighted by Tony Ferguson, who fought in the co-main event spot when the UFC came to Sioux Falls back in 2016, taking on Justin Gaethje. Also on the card is a Bantamweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz, and a fight featuring former NFL player Greg Hardy.

Controversial or not, UFC 249 has the chance to bring the sports world back. UFC is currently scheduled to run three shows over the next nine days. If all of the events go on without issue and no cases of COVID-19 popup, other leagues like MLB, NBA, and NHL could follow suit and the path that the UFC took to get back to games.

On the contrary, if UFC 249 and the following events even spark any form of an issue with COVID-19, we can assume that sports will be gone for a long time. Nobody else will want to risk it.

This will be a big weekend for the United States in regards to sports. Let's all hope, for the sake of us fans, that the UFC does indeed provide that path to bringing all other major leagues back.

UFC 249 takes place on Saturday (May 9) on ESPN+.