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After a nearly two month hiatus from the sport, we now finally have one of the most highly anticipated UFC cards of the year taking place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Originally slated for April 18th in Brooklyn, New York, Dana White and the UFC have been able to overcome all the current issues and put together an incredible card that will highlight some of the sports best.
In this article, I'll be providing you with fight breakdowns and MMA betting picks for UFC 249 on 5/9/20. Be sure to also check out our DraftKings and FanDuel MMA DFS picks articles. Give me a follow on Twitter @ConnorFurwa. Good luck!
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Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
The former All-Pro NFL star will kick off the pay-per-view against an up and coming heavyweight in Yorgan De Castro. Sure to be fireworks, De Castro brings an arsenal of extremely dangerous leg kicks which were showcased in his knockout against Alton Meeks on season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series. Just coming off a knockout against Australian Justin Tafa, this is sure to be another opportunity for De Castro to show his skillset.
Hardy, 5-2, has been a victim of trying to rush to UFC stardom being the extremely athletic prospect he is. Continuously making progress fight in and fight out, Hardy needs to put his raw talent together in this closely contested bout.
Pick: De Castro +160
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Well on his way to a #1 contender fight, Kattar, a top prospect in the sport ran into an absolute monster in Zabit Magomedsharipov in his last fight. He now finds himself facing a durable, hard hitting veteran in Stephens. Both men are known for their durability and a hard-hitting arsenal of kicks and punches.
This is sure to be instant classic. Stephens, one year the elder to Kattar, has 6x the UFC experience dating all the way back to 2007. A true pioneer in the sport, Stephens runs into a nightmare in Kattar. Popcorn needs to be ready.
Pick: Kattar by KO/TKO or DQ +225
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Yikes! If you like knockouts this is your fight. Arguably the two hardest hitting men in the world, and the owner of a combined 12 UFC knockouts, this is almost guaranteed not to be in the hands of the judges. Rozenstruik, the lesser known of the two, comes into this fight with 64 kickboxing knockouts showing at his extremely talented skillset is right in line.
Even though Ngannou doesn’t have the background Rozenstruik does, he still has fought the who’s who in the sport, being tested over and over again. This is a very interesting fight that will surely show where the heavyweight division is in today’s UFC, and this is the easy pick for knockout of the night.
Pick: Ngannou by KO, TKO, or DQ -150
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Is ring rust real? Cruz doesn’t think so, and we will find out the answer to that question Saturday in the co-main event of the evening. It’s been almost 4 years since we’ve seen Cruz in the octagon, but he still stays busy working alongside Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik analyzing his competition. Cruz is one of the smartest MMA minds in the sport, and it’s hard to imagine Cruz not being fully prepared for Triple C.
The owner of the bantamweight championship and an Olympic gold medalist, Cejudo is coming off an impressive TKO victory at UFC 238 over Marlon Moraes. The speedy Cejudo will look to catch the man who is known his top footwork. A very interesting fight, we can finally see if Cejudo is really the “GOAT” by taking out the best Bantamweight to do it. My heart is telling me to lean towards Cruz, but Cejudo’ s work ethic in Cruz’s absence will be the factor.
Pick: Cejudo wins by 5 round decision +150
Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
The MMA community really had their hearts broken when Ferguson-Khabib was cancelled for a 5th time. One of the best lightweights in the sport will now get a shot at former interim champion Tony Ferguson. Gaethje, the most violent fighter in the UFC, will be ready to bring all of his skillset to the octagon Saturday night. Just a few weeks ago, we were talking about a short notice fight against a fighter of Ferguson’s caliber, now the extra few weeks will be able to get Gaethje right in line.
The question that everyone wants to know is: can anyone keep up with Tony’s pressure for 5 rounds. We will see this Saturday when a former All-American wrestler faces off with Ferguson. The clear front-runner for fight of the night, this is sure to be worth price of admission. If anyone can do it, Gaethje can, making this fight not one to miss.
Pick: Ferguson -180
Bonus Parlay
Ryan Spann, Jacare Souza, Fabricio Werdum, Donald Cerrone
