Madison Square Garden (eventually)
New York City, New York State, The Northeast of America
Joanna Champion will look to solidify her nickname in New York City as she’ll be defending her title against Rose Namajunas. This news was broken by … Joanna herself! Then the UFC confirmed it with a video. You can see Joanna’s announcement here:
https://twitter.com/joannamma/status/907596559172456448
The UFC video announcement is below but look back at that bad boy above. I hope she typed all that and not someone whose job it is to market because I don’t know who @danaiiiwhite is but he’s famous now. OK. I looked him up and it’s awesome. He’s a fan of Boston sports and is followed by Gray Maynard, Brett Okamoto, John Morgan, and Adam Hill, the latter three are all professional MMA journalists, which should fill one and all with hope.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/907585579503767552
Hey, look, this is the OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE the company sent out. Isn’t it neato?
Las Vegas – The historic Madison Square Garden will once again play host to a mammoth event when the Octagon® touches down in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 4 forUFC® 217: BISPING vs ST-PIERRE. The main event features middleweight champion Michael Bisping defending his world title against future Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre,and in the co-main event, the bad blood will finally come to a halt when bantamweight kingpin Cody Garbrandt puts his title on the line against rival TJ Dillashaw. Plus,Joanna Jedrzejczyk hopes to make history when she looks to defend her strawweight title for the sixth time against Rose Namajunas. The event airs live on Pay-Per-View.
Bisping (31-7, fighting out of Manchester, England) is one of the most polarizing figures in UFC® history. His 20 Octagon wins are the most in UFC history, and coupled with his brash, in your face trash talk and his ability to back it up, the 185-pound champion has become a must-see every time he competes. In what could be his most intriguing matchup to date, he’ll welcome one of the most celebrated mixed martial artists of all-time back to competition when he meets St-Pierre (25-2, fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada). One of the most dominant champions ever, St-Pierre will move up from 170 pounds to challenge for the middleweight title, hoping to become only the fourth fighter to win UFC titles in two divisions (Conor McGregor, Randy Couture, BJ Penn). With wins over Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, BJ Penn and Matt Hughes, GSP has beaten a who’s who of MMA in the last decade.
In the co-main event, newly minted 135-pound champion Garbrandt (11-0, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) will put his undefeated record and world title on the line against former teammate and current nemesis Dillashaw (14-3, fighting out of Denver, Colo.). Garbrandt packs one of the most powerful punches in the division and has nine wins by knockout – seven in the first round. Coming off a dominant victory over Dominick Cruz to win the belt, the 26-year-old has his sights set on another former champion in Dillashaw. Looking to regain the title he feels is rightfully his, Dillashaw is one of the most athletic and dynamic athletes in the sport. He has six knockouts and three submissions and wins over the likes of John Lineker, Raphael Assuncao and Renan Barao on his resume. When these two finally clash, there will be more than a world title on the line, as bragging rights will go to the victor at the end of arguably the most publicized feud in UFC history.
Plus, Jedrzejczyk (14-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) has the chance to tie Ronda Rousey’s record of six consecutive successful title defenses in the women’s divisions of the UFC with a win over Namajunas (7-3, fighting out of Denver, Colo.). A multiple-time world Muay Thai champion, Jedrzejczyk is considered to have one of the best striking attacks in MMA, regardless of gender. She has become one of the most dominant champions to grace the Octagon and hopes to keep her perfect record intact in New York City. In order for Namajunas to leave the Big Apple as just the third champion in the division’s history, she’ll look to close the distance and take the fight the ground where she excels at jiu-jitsu, as six of her seven wins as a pro have come via submission. At just 25 years old, Namajunas has a shot at history of her own, because a win over Jedrzejczyk will make her the youngest female champion in UFC history.
Additional Bouts:
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Top-ranked welterweight Stephen Thompson (13-2-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, S.C.) collides with No. 4 Jorge Masvidal (32-12, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) in an early Fight of the Night contender
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No. 8 Corey Anderson (10-3, fighting out of Robbinsville, N.J.) looks to continue his ascent up the light heavyweight division rankings when he meets No. 12 Patrick Cummins (10-4, fighting out of Dana Point, Calif.)
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Former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks (18-7, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) clashes with highly touted undefeated prospect Paulo Borrachinha (10-0, fighting out of Belo Horizonte, Brazil) in a middleweight showdown
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In a battle of fast rising heavyweights, No. 9 Aleksei Oleinik (52-10-1, fighting out of Moscow) meets No. 13 Curtis Blaydes (7-1, fighting out of Denver, Colo.)
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Submission ace, No. 15 Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-4, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) meets heavy-handed Ion Cutelaba (13-3, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) at 205-pounds
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Undefeated bantamweight prospect Aiemann Zahabi (7-0 fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Ricardo Ramos (10-1, fighting out of Campinas, Brazil) meet in a 135-pound duel
UFC 217 CARD
- Michael Bisping (c) vs. Georges St-Pierre – for the UFC Middleweight Championship
- Cody Garbrandt (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw – for the UFC Bantamweight Championship
- Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c) vs. Rose Namajunas – for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Paulo Borrachinha vs. Johny Hendricks
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Aleksei Oleinik
- Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Ion Cutelaba
- Jorge Masvidal vs. Stephen Thompson
- Corey Anderson vs. Patrick Cummins
- Tom Duquesnoy vs. Cody Stamann
