Who’s Available?
The main event for Houston sounds like it’s going to be Jon Jones returning to action for the first time since July. After a busy late-2018 and early to mid-2019, the light heavyweight champ has reportedly agreed to defend his belt against Dominick Reyes. It would be a tough test for Reyes, who has separated himself from the pack and earned a title shot ahead of the likes of Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz.
Per sources, verbal agreements are in place for Jon Jones to put his light heavyweight title on the line against undefeated contender Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 on Feb. 8 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center.
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) November 16, 2019
Outside of Jones, the promotion has a few interesting options. Most of those options depend on what double-champ Henry Cejudo wants to do. After recovering from surgery, Cejudo is due back in early-2020. But, who would he fight? Flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez has signaled his intent, while bantamweight is full of top-tier, deserving contenders. Right now, things are a little busy at bantamweight.
At 135 pounds, Aljamain Sterling is recovering from a recent surgery. Marlon Moraes is fighting Jose Aldo, in his bantamweight debut, at UFC 245. Petr Yan is fighting Urijah Faber at UFC 245. Cory Sandhagen is fighting Frankie Edgar, in his bantamweight debut, at UFC Raleigh in late January. That’s the title picture in the 135-pound division essentially spoken for. So, for Cejudo, it looks like either a flyweight defense against Benavidez, or more time on the shelf.
Cejudo could also vacate the flyweight title, and decline to continue to cut down to 125 pounds. If that happens, a title fight between Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo would make some sense. Either way, Benavidez should be fighting for the UFC flyweight title in 2020.
After that, a couple of women’s title fights could feature at UFC 247. While the upcoming title-defenses for the likes of Weili Zhang and Valentina Shevchenko are interesting, neither champion has a current contender that would give them the kind of match-up the promotion would put atop a PPV, given the other options available. It’s more probable that either champ features as the co-main event of Houston’s PPV.
That leaves the trilogy bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. The duo have traded victories in their last two bouts, and by every indication, we’ll be getting a third sometime next year. Although Tyson Fury is poking his head into the discussion, we expect cooler heads to prevail and for DC-Stipe 3 to take place in 2020. But, with the other options on the table, and the brutal bout they went through last summer, a bit more time off and a higher-profile card makes sense for what could be a Fight of the Year candidate.
Let us know who you think will be fighting in the main event of UFC 247, and which matchups you’d prefer! Right now, it’s looking like Jon Jones will be defending his belt against Dominick Reyes. Share your thoughts with us by commenting below, on Facebook, or replying on Twitter!
