Analyzing the big UFC 247 matchup between Jon ‘Bones’ Jones and Dominick Reyes for the title, with predictions and betting odds
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Jon ‘Bones’ Jones and Dominick Reyes square off Saturday at UFC 247 at Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. The light heavyweight bout is the main event on the pay-per-view card (to watch, sign up for ESPN+ now). Below, we breakdown the Jones-Reyes fight, with UFC 247 betting odds and picks.
Bones is back (24-1) defending his strap in Houston, and the 32-year-old is a heavy favorite to do just that. He topped Mauricio Rua back at UFC 128 for the title, and he has held the championship ever since. Of course, it hasn’t come without plenty of drama, with positive drugs tests and out-of-the-octagon issues. After a no-contest for a positive drug test after his win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, he was away from the sport until Dec. 29, 2018. He returned with an absolute dismantling of Alexander Gustafsson, and he picked up a unanimous decision win over Anthony Smith at UFC 235 and a split-decision win over Thiago Santos at UFC 239.
Reyes (12-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line, and the southpaw is looking to do the unthinkable and sink one of the best of all-time in MMA, if not the greatest. The southpaw made his UFC debut June 25, 2017 against Joachim Christensen, winning in a KO/TKO, and four of his six UFC bouts have been won in Round 1, with a unanimous decision win at UFC 229 over Ovince Saint Preux and a split-decision win over Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night on March 16, 2019. He is coming off a knockout of Chris Weidman last time out on Oct. 18, 2019, but this will easily be his biggest test.
Jones-Reyes odds
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Per BetMGM Sportsbook, Jones (-556) is a heavy favorite over Reyes (+350). The oddsmakers also lean to the match not going the distance (five rounds), with odds there being set at a whopping -250 for No – and the odds to go a full five rounds at Yes +175.
Are you new to sports betting? A $10 wager on Reyes to pull the upset returns $35 in profit. A bet on Jones at -556 returns a profit of $1.80 with a victory.
Jones is expected to win, and it will be one of the biggest upsets in recent memory if he is unable to do so. The thing to figure out is the manner in which he’ll win, and how to maximize profits.
Jones-Reyes betting guide
I like the total number of rounds – Over/Under – to actually go OVER 2.5 (-154), and that’s the lean from the book. The Under (2.5, +110) would be a slight upset.
In addition, Jones to win by submission (+275) looks pretty tasty. He owns a 46.51 takedown accuracy percentage with a 1.90 takedown average. In addition, he owns the slight edge in submission average at 0.48-0.39.
If he doesn’t do it on the ground, the ‘striking’ difference between the two is in reach. Jones owns an overwhelming 84.5″-77″ reach advantage. They’re both strong in the striking game, but Reyes might not be able to get close to the champ.
Add in a bet on Jones (-556) winning outright on the 2-way line, and the fight not going the distance (-250), and you should be able to cobble together a nice profit despite the heavy chalk.
If you want some action on UFC 247, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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MMA Junkie senior editor Dave Doyle takes you through the key storylines heading into UFC 247.
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The UFC returns to action Saturday night with its second pay-per-view offering of 2020, as the octagon heads to Houston for UFC 247.
On the surface, the card appears to be headlined by a pair of “showcase” title fights, with underdog upstarts gunning for gold.
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], who is on any reasonable person’s short list of the sport’s GOAT candidates, defends his light heavyweight title against undefeated [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]. Meanwhile, [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag], who is No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s pound-for-pound rankings, puts her flyweight title up for grabs against [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag].
Both champions are heavy favorites. But then, faster than you can say “Matt Serra,” you remember strange things seem to happen in H-town, and the night becomes a little bit more intriguing.
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UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center with the main card on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Without further ado, here are six burning questions heading into UFC 247.
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How does Jon Jones respond to his last outing?
Jon Jones (red gloves) and Thiago Santos at UFC 239. (Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)
It’s a testament to just how dominant Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) has been as light heavyweight champion that a rare non-dominant performance causes you to wonder what’s up.
But it’s hard not to take a look back at his last fight and wonder whether it will affect him going forward.
Thiago Santos threw everything but the kitchen sink at Jones last July, wrecking both of his legs but still pressing forward for 25 minutes. It took all of Jones’ tenacity to eke out a split decision victory.
If you’ve been watching this sport long enough, you remember how Fedor Emelianenko, on his 10-year winning streak, struggled before putting away Brett Rogers, and how the intellgentsia scoffed when anyone suggested this might mean anything going forward. And then Emelianenko went out and lost his next three fights.
Maybe, as heretical as it might sound, the Santos fight indicated things are finally starting to catch up to Jones. Or maybe a competitor with the style of Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is just the type of fight to remind fans what Jones — who has scored only one official finish in nearly seven years, to go with six decisions and a no-contest — is capable of doing when he unleashes the beast.
If Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones do end up fighting, we know who “The Last Stylebender” will consider the A-side.
It’s UFC 247 fight week, and [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] continues to be asked about [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].
Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC), the UFC light heavyweight champion, puts his title on the line Saturday against undefeated Dominick Reyes.
It’s been a while since Jones, who’s cleared out the majority of the division, has had a fellow star as an opponent, prompting him to finally consider a move up to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
But there’s another big fight out there for Jones, and it happens to be the champion of the division below him, middleweight king Israel Adesanya.
Speaking to ESPN, Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) said Jones keeps bringing up his name simply to remain in the headlines.
“I don’t need him. Actually, I’ll say he needs me if he wants to stay relevant,” Adesanya said. “Because he’s already done a lot in his legacy which is tainted by other things he’s done outside the ring but, for right now to stay relevant, to stay current, he needs me.
“He can keep trying, but he’s got someone else to worry about right now this weekend with Dominick Reyes, so he better focus on that rather than focusing on me.”
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UFC president Dana White seems on board with a potential Jones vs. Adesanya fight down the line but thinks that Adesanya has to get through a few challengers first. Adesanya headlines UFC 248 next month against Yoel Romero, but Adesanya disagrees with White’s notion.
Adesanya is confident that, if he wanted to, he could just face Jones now, but that won’t be how he writes his story.
“I don’t think I have to,” Adesanya said. “I could have done my next fight (vs.) Jones if I wanted to, but this division has been held up for so long because the former champion (Robert Whittaker) was pulling out of fights, was sick, and was holding up the division. So for me, I have to do right like the greats. Like Anderson Silva who defended 12 times, the greats like him. I want to do right by the division and defend my belt, so I’m saying if you want to come down and see me, come see me, but let me get my job done first.
“I’ve got (Paulo) Costa, (Jared) Cannonier, Darren Till is a fresh new name. If Kelvin (Gastelum) can re-up and get back on the chopping block, he can get it, but there’s a few other guys that I want to get to – not have to, I want to get to. I want to defend my belt a few more times before I step up and fight someone like Jon Jones.”
Minus the one career blemish on Jones’ record via disqualification, he’s never lost. Jones is widely considered one of, if not, the greatest fighter of all time, and Adesanya hopes he’s the one that gets to shock the world.
“I kinda keep hoping he wins,” Adesanya said. “I keep hoping he keeps his streak up so when I do it, everyone will be like, ‘Wow, he really did that.'”
Just a two days after Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, tragically died in a helicopter crash late last month, the term “girl dad” became a thing.
It was born out of a tribute from ESPN anchor Elle Duncan in which she shared a personal story of meeting Kobe. At the time she was eight months pregnant, and the story goes that Kobe showed interest in how she was doing and asked what she was having. After telling him it would be a girl, Duncan said, Kobe was beaming and raved about being the father of four girls and declared, “I am a girl dad.”
After Duncan’s telling of that story aired on “SportsCenter,” #GirlDad went viral, with athletes and celebrities sharing photos of themselves with their daughters to honor Kobe and Gianna.
With that in mind, let’s fast forward to Wednesday’s UFC 247 athlete panel in Houston. A reporter asked light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], “What does ‘girl dad’ mean to you?”
After acknowledging his two young daughters in attendance, this was Jones’ response:
“I am a girl dad, and I love it. They say that little girls grow up to take care of their dad forever, and I’m surrounded by little girls, and I know that I’m gonna be in good hands for the rest of my life. When I’m old and crazy, I tell them they better stop by and cook me a meal and check on me, make sure I got clean laundry. Right? Make sure I’ve got a lot of love. So being a girl dad is awesome. Obviously I want a son so bad, but these girls are more than plenty. They’re going to do extraordinary things with their lives, and I’m just excited to see the way they turn out. I’m a blessed man to have so much love around me.”
We’re sure Jones meant well, but this probably could’ve been said a lot better. “Cook me a meal” and “make sure I got clean laundry”? I don’t think daughters serving their fathers is at the core of what it means to be a “girl dad.” Is it?
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Jon Jones took the high road in reacting to Max Kellerman’s suggestion that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the MMA GOAT.
When UFC fighters appear on ESPN’s “First Take,” you never know what kind of ridiculous things might be said or asked. It comes with the territory given that Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, the shows talking heads, only loosely follow MMA.
On Wednesday’s episode, UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] made an appearance to promote UFC 247 and, as you might expect, the line of questioning extended beyond his upcoming title fight against Dominick Reyes. Jones’ overall greatness was discussed, specifically how it compares to Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Smith acknowledged Jones as being one of the all-time great fighters but wondered how Jones felt about “being box office” in addition to a great fighter like McGregor and, to a lesser extent, Khabib have proven to be. Jones didn’t seem to care much about that.
“It’s about being the guy that people are gonna be talking about 50, a hundred years from now. That’s really what gets me out of bed in the morning,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, no disrespect to Conor because I love what he’s doing for our sport, I don’t think he’s gonna be in the conversation when people are sitting around at a barbershop talking about the greatest martial artists in the world.”
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Then came Kellerman, which is where things could’ve gone off the rails but didn’t. This was his question:
“If someone asked me, Jon, straight up: ‘Who’s the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist you’ve ever seen?’ At this moment, and I know it’s still early, I’d say Nurmagomedov based on what I’ve seen so far. … What do you think of Khabib right now?”
Jones couldn’t help himself. He laughed the moment “Nurmagomedov” came out of Kellerman’s mouth but also was respectful with his answer.
“I think Khabib’s an amazing fighter. I think he’s done a great job representing the UFC. He’s a great ambassador for our sport. But if you were to ask some MMA experts about myself and Khabib, I think most people would be able to tell our resumes are completely different. So many world champions under my belt that I’ve defeated. Khabib, a lot of his victories are against a lot of people that are relatively unknown, (whereas) I’ve been fighting legends since I was a young man in my early 20s.”
Kellerman, though, clarified what he meant.
“I don’t mean who’s more accomplished. I’m talking about just the eyeball test.”
Jones needed more clarification.
“What do you mean by that? Eyeball test?”
This is what Kellerman was getting at:
“Nurmagomedov in a sport where it seemed early on that the one whose base is the ground game usually has the advantage vs. the guy who’s best known for striking is the best example I could think of the guy whose ground game is ridiculous and then could also stand up.”
Jones’ response?
“Right. Yeah, his stand-up game is really not much to write home about. I really don’t want to insult my fellow martial artists. I don’t want to insult these guys. I’m happy for everyone. Like I said, some guys are more popular. Some guys make more money. It’s always gonna be kind of an opinion thing, but by the time I leave this sport I don’t think there’s gonna be much of an argument.”
Listen, Khabib is a great fighter, but there’s a reason he only landed at No. 8 on MMA Junkie’s top fighters of the decade despite being undefeated at 28-0. He’s an all-time great but isn’t in the GOAT discussion. For Kellerman to suggest he’s the actual GOAT is, well … it’s off. That’s why Jones laughed, but he also knew he wasn’t talking to an MMA expert, so he gave a good, measured answer.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Jon Jones hasn’t forgotten the “party favors” comment Dominick Reyes made in October.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] hasn’t forgotten the “party favors” comment [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] made in October.
After defeating Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston, Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) took to the microphone and poked fun at Jones’ history with, well, partying. The verbal jab was the first notable piece of trash talk either lobbed at the other prior to their UFC 247 booking.
At a UFC 247 athlete panel held Wednesday, Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) said he isn’t a fan what of what he deemed immaturity from the challenger. Jones said Reyes’ catty comment in Boston was the reason Jones decided he wanted the fight, but also admitted Reyes’ abilities were what ultimately earned him the matchup.
“When he mentioned ‘party favors’ and that he wanted the belt,” Jones said, of the moment he knew he wanted to fight Reyes. “I just felt like it was just a very immature way to go about things. It’s like, you’re knocking out everybody so you obviously have the attention of myself and the UFC.
“There’s no need to bring up my past. It’s just a silly, immature way to get this whole thing started off. It didn’t help him get the fight. The reason why I chose to give him this opportunity was because he’s knocked out everyone and he’s the scariest other guy in the world that I haven’t fought yet.”
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Leading up to UFC 247 fight week, Jones and Reyes exchanged numerous barbs on Twitter and through interviews. Jones said his banter is more factual and rides on correcting Reyes’ false claims.
Oh, and Jones also said he isn’t a fan of Reyes’ breath.
“He started this fight being completely immature,” Jones said. “Now that I’ve gotten back at him, acknowledging that he has stinky breath. That’s factual. Ask his camp. It’s factual. Ask Dana White.
“Then, just calling him on his stuff (like) saying he’s the best Apple Valley athlete and how he considers himself the best athlete I’ve ever faced. That’s insulting to everyone I’ve ever faced. What does that even mean? How are we not all athletes. Just to make the UFC roster, you have to an extraordinary athlete.”
Additionally, Jones responded to a recent comment made by Reyes. Moments prior to Jones’ appearance on the panel, Reyes’ fielded questions, as well. When asked about Jones’ boxing, Reyes said “it’s no secret that Jon isn’t the best boxer in the UFC.”
“Have you seen his mitt work?” Jones said. “He has a tremendous left hand. I know he’s going to work hard on his right hand, especially because I’ve brought it up so much. My job is not to go out there and get in a boxing match. My job is to be the better mixed martial arts fighter. Like I said, I’m very aware that his best counters come in boxing combinations. I’m not going to give him what he wants. It’s going to be a mixed martial arts fight.”
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+.
Dominick Reyes predicts he’ll have an advantage in the boxing department against Jon Jones.
HOUSTON – [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] predicts he’ll have an advantage in the boxing department when he faces UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] at UFC 247 on Saturday.
At a UFC 247 blue corner athlete panel held Wednesday, Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) fielded questions from fans. One fan asked Reyes how he plans on exploiting “Jon’s poor offensive and defensive boxing.” There was chatter in the crowd from critics of the question in attendance, but Reyes didn’t skip a beat with his answer.
“It’s no secret that Jon isn’t the best boxer in the UFC,” Reyes said. “He’s a great kickboxer. He has great range. He uses his kicks very well, but he’s not the best boxer. I intend to exploit that.”
Conversely, Reyes views his boxing as some of the light heavyweight division’s best. The first-time UFC title challenger said “footwork and fearlessness” will prove to be the difference against Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC).
“I think my boxing is the probably the best in the division,” Reyes said. “With footwork and fearlessness, I’ll get in there and put these hands on him.”
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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+.
Check out the full blue corner athlete panel in the video linked above.
The best facts and figures about UFC 247, which features a Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes title-fight main event.
UFC action resumes Saturday with UFC 247, which takes place at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
A championship doubleheader sits atop the card. In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) puts his light heavyweight title on the line against [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). The co-headliner sees women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) meet [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
For more on the numbers behind those title fights, as well as the rest of the 12-bout lineup, check below for 50 pre-event facts about UFC 247.
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Main event
Jones owns or is on the verge of owning numerous key UFC records. Check out his complete stat sheet to see where he stands in company history.
Reyes’ six-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Reyes has earned nine of his 12 career victories by first-round stoppage.
Reyes lands 5.03 significant strikes per minute in UFC light heavyweight competition, the third rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Ion Cutelaba (5.27) and Aleksander Rakic (5.17).
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Reyes outlands his opponents by a +2.79 margin in significant strikes per minute, the second best rate in divisional history behind Alessio Sakara (3.24).
Reyes’ 29-second knockout of Joachim Christensen are UFC Fight Night 112 marked the second fastest stoppage by any debuting light-heavyweight in UFC history behind Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second win at UFC 149.
Reyes defends 84 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC light heavyweight competition, the second highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Jones (95 percent).
Co-main event
Shevchenko is one of two women’s flyweight champions in UFC history. Nicco Montano also accomplished the feat.
Shevchenko’s two consecutive UFC women’s flyweight title defenses are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko is one of seven fighters in history to end a UFC title fight with a knockout stemming from a head kick. She accomplished the feat at UFC 238. Amanda Nunes, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Renan Barao, Holly Holm and T.J. Dillashaw are the others.
Shevchenko is 4-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.
Shevchenko’s four-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Shevchenko’s four victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with four others for most in divisional history.
Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown against eight of her nine UFC opponents.
Shevchenko and Liz Carmouche combined for 60 significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN+ 14, the third fewest in a modern-era UFC title fight that went all five rounds. Only Sean Sherk vs. Hermes Franca (41) and Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott (52) had less.
Shevchenko outlanded Priscila Cachoeira 230-3 in total strikes at UFC Fight Night 125, the largest disparity in UFC women’s history.
Shevchenko’s two fight-night bonuses for UFC women’s flyweight bouts are most in divisional history.
Shevchenko has suffered both of her UFC losses to women’s bantamweight and featherweight champ Nunes.
Chookagian competes in her sixth UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied with Gillian Robertson and Roxanne Modafferi for most appearances in divisional history.
Chookagian is to 4-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.
Chookagian’s four victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Valentina Shevchenko, Joanne Calderwood and Gillian Robertson for most in divisional history.
Chookagian has earned 10 of her 13 career victories by decision. That includes all six of her UFC wins.
Chookagian defends 63.6 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Remaining main card
Juan Adams
[autotag]Juan Adams[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career on a five-fight winning streak.
[autotag]Mirsad Bektic[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) absorbs 1.70 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Rani Yahya (1.05).
Bektic completes 53.1 of his takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the third highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Zubaira Tukhugov (57.5 percent) and Zabit Magomedsharipov (56.3 percent).
Bektic has completed at least two takedowns against five of his seven UFC opponents.
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the fourth longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Alexander Volkanovski (six).
Ige lands 50.6 of his significant strike attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the third best rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Volkanovski (56.3 percent) and Dooho Choi (51.2 percent).
Derrick Lewis
[autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) makes his 19th UFC heavyweight appearance since 2014, the most in the division and second most fights on the roster behind Donald Cerrone (23).
Lewis’ 13 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Andrei Arlovski (17), Frank Mir (16) and Junior Dos Santos (15).
Lewis’ 10 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for fifth most in divisional history behind Mir (13), Arlovski (11), Gabriel Gonzaga (11) and Stefan Struve (11).
Lewis’ 10 knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez for most in divisional history.
Lewis’ 10 knockout victories in UFC competition since 2014 are second most among active fighters in the organization behind Thiago Santos (11).
Lewis’ six knockouts stemming from ground strikes in UFC competition are tied with Randy Couture for second most in company history behind Velasquez (eight).
Lewis is the only fighter in history to have his first eight UFC fights end in a knockout.
Lewis’ knockout of Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 despite a -82 significant strike differential marked the greatest statistical striking comeback in UFC history.
Lewis and Francis Ngannou combined for 31 total strikes landed at UFC 226, the second fewest in a three-round UFC fight that went the distance behind Jens Pulver vs. Joao Roque (23) at UFC 26 in June 2000.
Ilir Latifi
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) moves up to the UFC heavyweight division after spending his first 12 promotional appearances at light heavyweight. His 12 light heavyweight bouts are the most for any fighter in UFC history
Latifi enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.
Latifi is one of four light heavyweights in UFC history to earn two stoppage victories in less than one minute each. Volkan Oezdemir, Johnny Walker and Anthony Johnson also accomplished the feat.
Latifi’s fight vs. Cyrille Diabate at UFC Fight Night 37 marked the first fight in UFC history to feature zero combined significant strike attempts.
Preliminary card
Trevin Giles
[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 11-0.
Giles is 1-2 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in December 2017.
[autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC), 36, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event. Lauren Murphy is a single day older.
Murphy has alternated wins and losses over her past seven fights. She was victorious in her most recent bout at UFC on ESPN 5 in August.
Murphy is 2-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in December 2017.
Murphy is one of five female fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a knee strike. She accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 5.
[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 23, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
The UFC’s second pay-per-view of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 247, and the popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.
The UFC’s second pay-per-view of the year takes place Saturday with UFC 247, and the promotion’s popular “Embedded” series returns to get you ready.
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, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) defends his UFC light heavyweight title against [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). In the co-feature, [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) defends her women’s flyweight title against [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). Also, heavyweights Derrick Lewis (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and Ilir Latifi (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) collide in the main card opener.
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The third episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card. Here’s the UFC’s description:
On Episode 3 of UFC 247 Embedded, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko shows off her sharpshooting skills. Opponent Katlyn Chookagian resets with a walk on the beach. Light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes embraces fight week with a high-energy workout and an inspirational Nate Diaz quote. Reigning champ Jon Jones flies to Houston and meets his brother, Arizona Cardinal Chandler Jones. Local heavyweight Derrick Lewis gets his supplement regime approved. UFC 247 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the two title fights taking place Saturday, February 8th on Pay-Per-View.
