UFC 247: Make your predictions for Jones-Reyes, Shevchenko-Chookagian title fights in Houston

We want your predictions for UFC 247 in Houston, featuring Jon Jones-Dominick Reyes and Valentina Shevchenko-Katlyn Chookagian title fights.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC 247 event in Houston.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC 247 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

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UFC 247: Fans invited to athlete panel, gym day, press conference, weigh-ins in Houston

If you’re heading to Houston for a pair of title fights this week, or are from the area, there are several events you can attend for free.

If you’re heading to Houston to catch a pair of title fights this week, or are from the area, there are several events you can attend for free.

UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

In the main event, light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) returns after seven months off for his latest title defense. He meets the unbeaten [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the headliner.

In the co-feature, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is a massive favorite of as much as 14-1 against challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in their title fight.

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Prior to the event, fans can attend a pre-fight athlete panel featuring the title fighters, plus Houston’s own [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and his heavyweight opponent, [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC).

The athlete panel, hosted by UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik, takes place at The Ballroom at Bayou Place at 500 Texas Ave. in Houston. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open to the public at 5 p.m. CT local time, and the panel is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Anik will talk to Reyes, Chookagian and Latifi first, then Jones, Shevchenko and Lewis in the second session.

Thursday, fans can attend a gym day at Renzo Gracie’s facility at 14555 West Lake Houston in Houston. Doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m. CT and will feature [autotag]Alex Hernandez[/autotag], [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag], [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] and “BMF” titleholder [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag].

Friday, ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans take place at Toyota Center with a news conference for UFC 248 beforehand. Doors open for the public at 3:30 p.m. CT. The UFC 248 press conference starts at 4 p.m. The ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs between the fighters go down at 5 p.m.

The UFC 247 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

Antonio Arroyo vs. Trevin Giles
Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
Alex Morono vs. Kalinn Williams
Mario Bautista vs. Miles Johns

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

Journey Newson vs. Domingo Pilarte
Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez
Austin Lingo vs. Youssef Zalal

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UFC 247 lineup finalized: Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes leads championship doubleheader

Check out the official lineup and broadcast plans for UFC 247, which takes place Feb. 8 in Houston.

UFC 247 will feature a championship double-header as two of the promotion’s most dominant champions get top billing.

UFC 247 takes place Feb. 8 at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The main event features UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) putting his title on the line against yet another young and hungry contender in undefeated [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

In the co-main event, UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will attempt to make her third title defense, when she faces [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

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The card also will feature [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]’s heavyweight debut vs. the “Black Beast” [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag], a matchup between featherweight prospects in [autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag], and bantamweights [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] and [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag], who look to break into 135-pound title contention.

The full UFC 247 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
[autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Vera
[autotag]Antonio Arroyo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]
[autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag]
[autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]
[autotag]Journey Newson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Domingo Pilarte[/autotag]
[autotag]Andre Ewell[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag]

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Derrick Lewis surprised Ilir Latifi moved up, wanted to fight ‘biggest guy in the division’

Derrick Lewis is surprised Ilir Latifi decided to move up to heavyweight and wanted to take on one of the bigger fighters in the division.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] is surprised that [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] wants to face him.

Latifi (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) will move up to heavyweight and take on former UFC heavyweight title challenger Lewis (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) at UFC 247 in Houston on Feb. 8, where Latifi will make the move up from 205 pounds.

Speaking to MMA Junkie and other reporters Saturday backstage at UFC 245, Lewis said he actually thought the short and stocky Latifi would move down a weight class, not up.

“It was a real surprise that they chose Latifi because I believe that he was a small 205-er and for anything, he should have went down to 185 instead of coming up to heavyweight,” Lewis said. “And I heard that he had called me out, and wanted to fight me, so it was a real surprise to me, that he wanted to pick the biggest guy in the division, like the fattest guy in the division.”

Latifi has struggled as of late, suffering back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Volkan Oezdemir. He hopes to find new life at heavyweight, but Lewis doesn’t see him bringing anything to the table that he hasn’t seen before.

“I know he’s an explosive guy, he’s a wrestler or what. I don’t think he’ll be any different than anyone else,” Lewis said.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3003: On Shevchenko vs. Chookagian, Adesanya-Costa feud, more

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the latest MMA news and notes, from fights booked to feuds ramping up.

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On episode 3,002 of the podcast, the guys break down the latest MMA news and notes.

The rundown

UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] has her next title defense lined up, and it’ll happen against [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] on Feb. 8 in Houston. We offer our thoughts on the matchup and ponder Shevchenko’s status as one of the all-time great female fighters.
Did you see that [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] is set to fight … [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]? Latifi recently announced his move up to heavyweight from light heavyweight, and that’s one hell of an introduction to the division.
Question: Would [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] have a better shot in a rematch with UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] than Alexander Gustafsson did his second time around? We discuss.
Good news: [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] is on schedule with his recovery to return soon. Bad news: We still have no idea which UFC title he’ll defend first – flyweight or bantamweight. Whose decision is it, and what will ultimately be decided?
[autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] ranted about UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] this week and called him a “p***y African.” That … might be racist?
A potential fight between [autotag]Jason Knight[/autotag] and [autotag]Paulie Malignaggi[/autotag] in either boxing or bare knuckle: Is that something we want to see?
[autotag]Josh Thomson[/autotag] wants to run it back with [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] for a fourth time, and lobbies for Bellator to make it happen. Are we into it?

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Derrick Lewis vs. Ilir Latifi in the works for UFC event on Feb. 8

Ilir Latifi will have his hands full in his UFC heavyweight debut when he takes on Derrick Lewis on Feb. 8.

[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] will have his hands full in his UFC heavyweight debut.

A former member of the light heavyweight ranks, Latifi (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) moves to the 265-pound weight class, where he is expected take on [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] on Feb. 8.

A person with knowledge confirmed that the booking is in the works to MMA Junkie on Monday after an initial report by ESPN. The event currently doesn’t have a set location, but is targeted for Houston.

Latifi’s ascent to heavyweight comes on the heels of back-to-back losses at light heavyweight. After winning consecutive fights against Tyson Pedro and Ovince Saint Preux, Sweden’s Latifi lost an unanimous decision to Corey Anderson at UFC 232 in December 2018.

In his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN+ 14 in August, Latifi was finished by Volkan Oezdemir by second-round stoppage due to strikes.

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Feb. 8 will mark a three-month turnaround for Lewis (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) who just competed at UFC 244 on Nov. 2. In a back-and-forth brawl, Lewis defeated Bulgarian heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision.

The victory at Madison Square Garden snapped a two-fight skid for the American, who had lost fights against Junior Dos Santos and Daniel Cormier.

Check out the current lineup for the UFC’s Feb. 8 event below:

Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

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