After announcing the UFC 214 main event during the “Summer Kickoff” press conference, the UFC have now started to flesh out the rest of the July card with the addition of seven fights for the Anaheim event.
These include former bantamweight champion Renan Barao returning to the bantamweight division to take on top contender Aljamain Sterling and a fan favourite match-up between Ricardo Lamas and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.
UFC 214 is set to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, July 29 and will feature the long-awaited light-heavyweight rematch between champion Daniel Cormier and arch nemesis Jon Jones headlining the card.
After an underwhelming short stint at featherweight, which saw the Brazilian go 1-1 in that time, Barao returns to the bantamweight division he reigned over previously. He held the 235lb belt between 2012 and 2014 before being dethroned by TJ Dillashaw at UFC 173. Now he will aim to get himself back in contention against recovering prospect Sterling.
Serra-Longo MMA product Sterling is in a similar position to Barao and after falling to the first two defeats of his professional career bounced back with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Augusto Mendes at UFC on Fox 24. The 27-year-old will now look to make a statement against a former champion to be considered a contender in the talent-rich division.
Originally scheduled way back at UFC 162, featherweight veterans Jung and Lamas will finally meet in the Octagon in July. Jung was forced to pull out of the first meeting as he was offered the opportunity to face Jose Aldo at UFC 163 for the title instead.
“The Korean Zombie” returned after a three-and-a-half-year absence from the sport as he took time out to serve his mandatory national service back in South Korea. On his return, he showed no signs of ring rust as he dismantled Dennis Bermudez with a first round KO victory at UFC Fight Night 104.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old veteran Lamas is currently 2-2 in his last four fights and will hope to build on his submission victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 98 to post his first back-to-back victories since 2014.
Also announced for the card is popular UFC Lightweight Sage Northcutt, who returns from having his tonsils removed, to face Peruvian Claudio Puelles.
Divisive figure “Super Sage” is already 3-2 in the promotion, despite being only 21-years-old, and the preferential treatment he has received from the UFC during his quick ascension has assured his status of being a love/hate character. Northcutt has not fought since losing via a second round rear-naked choke to fellow up-and-comer Mickey Gall in December. 21-year-old Puelles, meanwhile, is a TUF Latin America alum and lost his UFC debut to Martin Bravo via second-round TKO last November.
Other fights added to the card are a lightweight clash that sees Josh Burkman taking on Drew Dober and a flyweight bout between Eric Shelton and Jarred Brooks. Also, Kailin Curran fights Alexsandra Albu in a women’s strawweight bout and two heavyweights Dmitry Smolyakov and Adam Wieczorek duke it out.
UFC 214 Fight Card
UFC Light-Heavyweight Title: Daniel Cormier (c) vs. Jon Jones
Featherweight Bout: Chan Sung Jung vs. Ricardo Lamas
Bantamweight Bout: Renan Barao vs. Aljamain Sterling
Flyweight Bout: Jarred Brooks vs. Eric Shelton
Featherweight Bout: Doo Ho Choi vs. Andre Fili
Lightweight Bout: Josh Burkman vs. Drew DobeWomen’s
ns Strawweight Bout: Kailin Curran vs. Alexsandra Albu
Heavyweight Bout: Dmitry Smolyakov vs. Adam Wieczorek
Lightweight Bout: Sage Northcutt vs. Claudio Puelles
