From the comfort of my home, I had one heck of a Saturday night is back in the sports world for the first time in what seemed like forever.

We have got our reprieves at times with The Last Dance, Esports, and even some foreign baseball, but it was very nice to see live sports in the United States again.

On Saturday night in Jacksonville, UFC 249 delivered with a great night of fights and at its core some live sports we've all been yearning for.

The night featured a great undercard with Anthony Pettis defeating the UFC's all-time wins king in Donald Cerrone.

Former NFL offensive lineman Greg Hardy also picked up a win in the main card as he tries to make a career in MMA after his departure from the NFL amid a domestic violence incident.

The biggest punch of the night came from Francis Ngannou knocking out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds in what turned out to be the most electric moment of the evening.

The headliners delivered as well with a Henry Ceudo win and a five-round slugfest between Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson.

Cuedo who many will claim is the most decorated fighter in MMA history defeated Dominick Cruz then subsequently retired after the fight.

Gaethje came strong in the UFC's return to the octagon with a fifth-round TKO after roughing up Ferguson all night.

Even though there were no fans, there were some positives of not having the crowd noise which included hearing the corners and the fighters talk all evening.

The undercard aired on ESPN and the main event on PPV with what I expect to be major numbers considering it is the first sports event since things got shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UFC three more fights planned over the next few weeks with two UFC Fight Nights on May 13 and May 16 as well as UFC 250 on June 6.

For more information on the upcoming cards and lineups, visit the UFC's website.


 

COVID-19 Screening Center - Washington High School

 

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