Demetrious Johnson, Amanda Nunes defend titles at UFC 215 in Edmonton
UFC® DEBUTS IN EDMONTON WITH TWO THRILLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS
TICKETS FOR UFC® 215: JOHNSON vs. BORG AT ROGERS PLACE GO ON SALE FRIDAY, JULY 28
Edmonton, Canada – UFC® will arrive in Edmonton with a pair of blockbuster championship bouts. UFC® 215: JOHNSON vs. BORG will see No.1 pound-for-pound fighter and ESPY Fighter of the Year winner, Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1, fighting out of Parkland, Washington, USA), look to make history when he battles No.3-ranked contender Ray Borg (11-2, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA).
UFC’s only flyweight champion, Johnson captured the belt at UFC 152 in Toronto in 2012. Currently tied with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defences at 10, “Mighty Mouse” has the opportunity to set a new benchmark on Canadian soil. In his last appearance, he secured a stunning submission victory over Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Wilson Reis. Standing in Johnson’s way is talented grappler Borg. Since joining the UFC roster in 2014, “The Tazmexican Devil” has picked up impressive wins against Jussier Formiga, Louis Smolka and Chris Kelades.
UFC® 215: JOHNSON vs. BORG co-main event features the highly anticipated women’s bantamweight championship fight between Amanda Nunes (14-4, fighting out of Miami, Florida, USA by way of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) and No.1 contender Valentina Shevchenko (14-2, fighting out of Lima, Peru by way of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
Following her first-round submission win over Miesha Tate to capture the bantamweight championship, Nunes scored an impressive 48-second TKO win over Ronda Rousey in December. Shevchenko has gone on a tear since dropping a close decision to Nunes at UFC 196 last year. In her two most recent outings, she out-struck former UFC and boxing champion Holly Holm, before submitting talented grappler Julianna Pena. Nunes and Shevchenko were originally set to meet at UFC 213 in July, but the bout was postponed after Nunes became ill.
UFC® 215: JOHNSON vs. BORG will also feature the following fights:
- Former heavyweight champion and No.4-ranked contender Junior Dos Santos (18-5, fighting out of Salvador, Brazil) will battle surging No.5 ranked Francis Ngannou (10-1, fighting out of Paris, France)
- No.7-ranked Jeremy Stephens (25-13, fighting out of San Diego, California, USA) will welcome No.15 lightweight and former UFC lightweight title challenger Gilbert Melendez (22-6, fighting out of San Francisco, California, USA) to the 145-pound division
- No.2-ranked flyweight contender and 2008 Olympic gold medal wrestler Henry Cejudo (10-2, fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona, USA) faces No.4 Wilson Reis (22-7, fighting out of San Diego, California, USA by way of Januaria, Minas Gerais, Brazil)
- No.9-ranked light heavyweight Ilir Latifi (13-5, 1NC, fighting out of Malmo, Sweden) challenges No.12 Tyson Pedro (6-0, fighting out of Sydney, Australia)
- No.6-ranked bantamweight Sara McMann (11-3, fighting out of Gaffney, South Carolina, USA) will face No.12 Ketlen Vieira (8-0, fighting out of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil)
- Unbeaten featherweight prospect Gavin Tucker (10-0, fighting out of Halifax, Canada) takes on aggressive striker Rick Glenn (19-4-1, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)
- No.15-ranked bantamweight Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-2, fighting out of Laguna Hills, California, USA) aims to rebound against The Ultimate Fighter® season 19 veteran Sarah Moras (4-3, fighting out of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada)
- 2012 Olympic wrestler Arjan Bhullar (6-0, fighting out of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada) will become both the first Sikh and Indo-Canadian fighter to step inside the Octagon® when he meets Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Luis Henrique (10-3 1NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- The Ultimate Fighter® Nations Team Canada member Kajan Johnson (21-12-1, fighting out of Montreal, Canada) will go for his third straight win when he takes on Adriano Martins (28-8, fighting out of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil)
