UFC 247 will take place on Saturday, featuring two fights with championships on the line. In the main event, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones will return to face Dominick Reyes. The co-main event will see Valentina Shevchenko put her UFC Flyweight Championship up against Katlyn Chookagian. Before that however is 10 other fighters that will take place from the Honda Center in Houston, Texas, USA.
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UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims (6:15 PM EST / 5:15 PM CST) (UFC Fight Pass / ESPN+)
Bout 1: Austin Lingo (7-0) vs. Youssef Zalal (7-2) (Featherweight)
The UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims will begin with two debuting fighters, those being Austin Lingo and Youssef Zalal. Both fighters have had most of their professional career held in regional promotion LFA. Lingo has remained undefeated for his pro career, with a 3-1 amateur record.
Bout 2: Andre Ewell (15-6) vs. Jonathan Martinez (11-2) (Bantamweight)
In the next fight, bantamweights Andre Ewell and Jonathan Martinez will battle. Ewell has a 2-2 UFC record, recently losing to Marlon Vera in October. Martinez lost his UFC debut, but has since bounced back with wins over Wuliji Buren and Liu Pingyuan.
Bout 3: Domingo Pilarte (8-2) vs. Journey Newson (9-2) (Bantamweight)
In the next bantamweight fight, two fighters who lost their debuts in the UFC will look to get their first win. The first of the two is Domingo Pilarte, who earned his contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. He lost his debut to Felipe Corales. He will face Journey Newson, who went to a decision loss to Ricardo Ramos in June.
UFC Prelims (8:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM CST) (TSN 5 / ESPN)
Bout 4: Miles Johns (10-0) vs. Mario Bautista (7-1) (Bantamweight)
The prelims will switch platforms for the final four fights. The first of those four will see undefeated Miles Johns fight Mario Bautista. Johns won his UFC debut in September over Cole Smith. Bautista debuted in early 2019, losing to Cory Sandhagen. He has since rebounded, beating Jin Soo Son.
Bout 5: Alex Morono (17-5) vs. Kalinn Williams (9-1) (Welterweight)
In the next fight, debuting Kalinn Williams will face Alex Morono. Williams fought in Michigan based regional promotion WXC before, obtaining a six-fight winning streak leading up to this fight. Morono has a 6-2-1 UFC record, debuting in 2016. He is on a three-fight win streak, most recently getting a scorecard win over Max Griffin in October.
Bout 6: Andrea Lee (11-3) vs. Lauren Murphy (11-4) (Flyweight)
Before the flyweight championship is put on the line later in the show, high-ranked flyweights Andrea Lee and Lauren Murphy will compete. Lee is coming off of a loss to Joanne Calderwood, holding a seven-fight winning streak before (three of those in the UFC). Murphy won her last fight against Mara Romero Borella. She has a 3-5 record in her UFC run.
Bout 7: Trevin Giles (11-2) vs. Antonio Arroyo (9-3) (Middleweight)
The preliminary card is headlined by Trevin Giles and Antonio Arroyo. Giles has a 2-2 UFC record, losing his last two to Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert. Arroyo lost his debut in November, and looks to get his first UFC win on this show. He won his contract after getting an arm triangle choke victory on season three of Dana White’s Contender Series.
Main Card (10:00 PM EST / 9:00 PM CST) (PPV)
Bout 8: Derrick Lewis (22-7) vs. Ilir Latifi (14-7) (Heavyweight)
The main card kicks off with Houston’s own Derrick Lewis facing Ilir Latifi. Lewis recently got his first win since losing a UFC Heavyweight Championship fight. Via split decision, Lewis defeated Blagoy Ivanov. Latifi is looking to snap a losing streak, recently failing to prevail over Corey Anderson and Volkan Oezdemir.
Bout 9: Dan Ige (12-2) vs. Mirsad Bektic (13-2) (Featherweight)
After losing his UFC debut in early 2018, Dan Ige has been on a tear, winning four in a row. He looks to make it five, facing Mirsad Bektic on Saturday. Bektic’s last fight was a loss, getting stopped in the first round by Josh Emmett. The winner of this fight could likely see themself enter the featherweight rankings after this fight.
Bout 10: Justin Tafa (3-1) vs. Juan Adams (5-2) (Heavyweight)
In the final fight before gold gets put on the line, Juan Adams will have hometown advantage against Justin Tafa. Adams lost his last fight within a minute to Greg Hardy, losing the one before via decision to Arjan Bhullar. Tafa lost his UFC debut in October, getting dropped in the first round by Yorgan de Castro at UFC 243.
Bout 11: Valentina Shevchenko (18-3) vs. Katlyn Chookagian (13-2) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
The co-main event of the evening will see Valentina Shevchenko try to make her third defense of the UFC Flyweight Championship, fighting Katlyn Chookagian. Her first defense was a head kick knockout in the second round against Jessica Eye. Most recently, Shevchenko went five rounds in an slow paced fight against Liz Carmouche.
Chookagian comes into this fight with two wins in a row. Both decisions, Chookagian has won over Joanne Calderwood and Jennifer Maia recently.
Bout 12: Jon Jones (25-1) vs. Dominick Reyes (12-0) (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
The main event of the evening will have UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones fighting undefeated Dominick Reyes. The last time Jones fought an undefeated fighter was over five years ago, the first time he fought Daniel Cormier.
Jones defended his belt twice in 2019, getting decision wins over both Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. Both fights didn’t go without controversy however. In his fight against Smith, Jones landed a ground knee in the fourth round. He was deducted two points due to this, although still got a unanimous decision victory. In his fight against Santos, Jones won via split decision, after having a close battle. The fight showed how the patience of Jones can sometimes be his enemy, as he did not engage enough to make a lead that gave him more rounds.
Reyes has six fights in the UFC, with four of them being via stoppage. Reyes has explosive power, which is showcased in his many stoppage wins. Most recently, Reyes stopped Chris Weidman in the first round with punches. Since that was the first time Reyes was booked for a five round fight, he has never went more than three rounds before. Seven of Jones’ past defenses of his championship went the scheduled five rounds.
UFC will return next Saturday at the Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA. Headlining the card will be light heavyweight contenders Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz. The next pay-per-view event, UFC 248, in on Mar. 7th. The show features two championship fights. In the co-main event. Weili Zhang will defend her UFC Strawweight Championship against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. In the main event, UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will face Yoel Romero.
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