A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between the current champion Henry Cejudo (also former UFC Flyweight Champion and 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling) and former WEC and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo was expected to serve as the event's first date headliner. However, Aldo pulled out on April 8 due to visa issues as the event was expected to be moved to the United States (see the section below). While not officially announced by the promotion, former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was expected to replace him.
A UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current champion Amanda Nunes (also the current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Felicia Spencer was expected to serve as the co-headliner. Nunes announced on April 20 that she would not compete at a new proposed event for May 9 due to her desire to have a full training camp.
COVID-19 pandemic
The event was originally expected to take place at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.[2] On April 7, it was announced that the venue will be used as a field hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic and would not be able to host the fight card.[10]
Due to the event being expected to be relocated to the United States, several changes were made due to fighters being unable to compete due to visa issues:[11]
A light heavyweight bout between the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and Antônio Rogério Nogueira was canceled. The pairing previously met at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights.
Ketlen Vieira, who was expected to face Marion Reneau in a women's bantamweight bout.
Former title challenger Bethe Correia, who was expected to face Pannie Kianzad in a women's bantamweight bout.
Augusto Sakai, who was expected to face former WSOF Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov in a heavyweight bout.
Carlos Felipe, who was expected to face Sergey Spivak in a heavyweight bout.
UFC president Dana White announced on April 9 that starting with UFC 251, all future events were indefinitely postponed. It was confirmed that this event was cancelled on April 20, though the UFC was still targeting a new event for the same date (not expected to be the original UFC 250).The UFC moved the previously mentioned UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between Cejudo and Cruz, as well as a heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabrício Werdum and Aleksei Oleinik to the new UFC 249 date.
UFC 250 will now take place on June 6, after being relocated north. The event is still expected to feature the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between Nunes and Spencer.
The UFC 250 card is starting to take shape, as three more bouts were recently confirmed for the June 6 event.
The following contests were announced by the promotion on Saturday: Alonzo Menifield vs. Devin Clark at light heavyweight, Ian Heinisch vs. Gerald Meerschaert at middleweight and Charles Byrd vs. Maki Pitolo at middleweight.
UFC 250 takes place at an as yet to be announced location and will feature a women’s featherweight title tilt between Amanda Nunes and Felicia Spencer. A bantamweight scrap pitting Cody Garbrandt against Raphael Assuncao is also slated for the card.
A two-time competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Menifield has kicked off his UFC tenure with first-round stoppages of Vinicius Moreira Castro and Paul Craig to run his professional record to 9-0. Clark, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision triumph against Dequan Townsend at UFC Fight Night 167 and is 5-4 in the Octagon overall.
Another Contender Series alum, Heinisch has dropped back-to-back contests at the hands of Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov within the Las Vegas-based promotion. A veteran of 43 pro bouts, Meerschaert has won two of his last three Octagon appearances, including a submission of Deron Winn in his last outing at UFC 248.
Byrd will look to snap a two-bout skid after suffering TKO losses to Edmen Shahbazyan and Darren Stewart. Pitolo was outpointed by Callan Potter in his promotional debut at UFC 243 after earning a contract on Season 3 of the Contender Series.
Maki Pitolo is moving to middleweight.
On June 6, Pitolo (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will face fellow Dana White’s Contender Series signee Charles Byrd in a 185-pound matchup June 6 at UFC 250. The promotion announced the booking during the UFC 249 broadcast on Saturday.
UFC 250 takes place June 6 but does not have an official location or venue, though the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is possible, pending the resumption of combat sports in the sate of Nevada. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely on ESPN and ESPN+.
In October 2019 at UFC 243, Pitolo made his promotional debut at welterweight. A moderate favorite across major sports books, Pitolo was upset by home country fighter Callan Potter via unanimous decision.
In February, Pitolo was scheduled for his second UFC bout against Takashi Sato. However, Pitolo fell ill as a result of his weight cut and the fight was canceled.
Fortis MMA’s Byrd (10-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will be looking to snap a two-fight losing skid. After winning his UFC debut against John Phillips in March 2018, Byrd was finished with strikes in back-to-back fights against Darren Stewart and Edmen Shahbazyan.
The latest UFC 250 lineup now includes:
Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer – for women’s featherweight title
Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
Jussier Formiga vs. Alex Perez
Ian Heinisch vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield
Charles Byrd vs. Maki Pitolo
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