Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee will lock horns for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event at UFC 216 on Saturday 7th October at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-main event will feature UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson defending his title against Ray Borg.
Interim UFC Lightweight Championship Bout: Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee
The battle for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship has potential to be Fight of The Night at UFC 216. Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson will finally fight for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship after his scheduled fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209 was canceled when the Russian was hospitalized before the weigh-ins. Ferguson was last seen in the Octagon when he defeated the former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision in November last year. The grueling five-round war was awarded Fight of The Night honors with both fighters being awarded £50,000 in bonus money. El Cucuy has racked up an astonishing nine-fight win streak in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division since his last loss in 2013.
Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee is coming into this bout riding his own five-fight winning streak. The outspoken Detriot native choked out Michael Chiesa in a Performance of the Night at UFC Fight Night in June. The victory was controversial due to the referee stopping the fight before Chiesa tapped to the rear-naked choke. The fuse was lit for the Ferguson vs. Lee bout during Lee’s post-fight interview with Ferguson who was working in his Fox Sports analyst role. Lee took exception to Ferguson’s line of questioning and demanded to be put back on with a real journalist.
UFC 216: Ferguson vs Lee – Extended Preview
UFC Flyweight Championship Bout: Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Ray Borg
UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson takes on Ray Borg in the co-main event. The bout was originally scheduled for UFC 215 but Borg was forced to withdraw a day before the fight due to an illness. The Jackson Winklejohn fighter has missed weight twice during his UFC career. Johnson is currently tied with the former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva’s record of 10 consecutive UFC title defenses in the Octagon. Mighty Mouse submitted Wilson Reis with an armbar in his last title defense in April. During his title reign, Johnson has earned Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night and 3 Performance of the Night awards. Borg is coming off the biggest win of his career against Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night Brazil in March.
UFC 216 Main Card
Lightweight: Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee
Flyweight: Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Ray Borg
Heavyweight: Fabrício Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis
Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham
UFC 216 Preliminary Card
Featherweight: Tom Duquesnoy vs. Cody Stamann
Lightweight: Will Brooks vs. Nik Lentz
Lightweight: Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata
Women’s Strawweight: Pearl Gonzalez vs. Poliana Botelho
UFC 216 Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Heavyweight: Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
Flyweight: John Moraga vs. Magomed Bibulatov
Middleweight: Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares
Flyweight: Matt Schnell vs. Marco Beltrán
