Three Huge Fights Made Official For UFC 239
July 6’s UFC 239 just added some impressive pieces to its all-star lineup during International Fight Week.
The UFC confirmed three high-profile bouts for the midsummer spectacle today. All three fights were speculated upon in previous reports and have been made official.
The first is former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold‘s light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz. Rockhold has been out of action since a brutal knockout loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 221 in February 2018. He’ll make his oft-discussed move up to 205 pounds to take on Blachowicz. The Polish striker will come in off of a knockout loss to Thiago Santos, who will headline UFC 239 opposite Jon Jones.
A second bout confirmed was Junior dos Santos vs. Francis Ngannou. Both knockout strikers have seen career resurgences in recent bouts. Dos Santos has won three straight fights, his most recent a TKO win over Derrick Lewis at last month’s UFC Wichita. He’ll look to cap his decorated career off with another title run. But he’ll have no easy task in the resurgent “Predator,” who has knocked out Cain Velasquez and Curtis Blaydes in consecutive bouts.
Finally, the previously reported Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa fight at welterweight was confirmed for UFC 239. The bout will be a match-up of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winners. Sanchez won the first season of the show. He’s won two straight over Mickey Gall and Craig White. Chiesa, meanwhile, won TUF 15 and recently made a successful welterweight debut by submitting Carlos Condit last year. The victory was his first win since 2016.
UFC 239 will go down July 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will serve as the crown jewel of International Fight Week. The main card will air on pay-per-view following preliminary cards on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
Here is a fully updated lineup for the anticipated PPV.
Current UFC 239 Lineup
- Jon Jones vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos – light heavyweight title fight
- Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm – women’s bantamweight title fight
- Ben Askren vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Luke Rockhold
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Francis Ngannou
- Michael Chiesa vs. Diego Sanchez
- Jack Marshman vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
