UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes
Derrick Lewis vs. Ilir Latifi
This is the interesting heavyweight matchup I mentioned in the open — a pairing between the perennial contender Lewis and the cult hero Latifi, who ventures to the big boy ranks for the first time since the first few fights of his career more than a decade ago.
Lewis began his 2019 campaign with a stoppage loss to Junior Dos Santos, then revealed he’d been fighting on a ripped up knee for a couple years. After getting everything cleaned up and completing his rehab, the Houston native returned to the Octagon at UFC 244, registering a split decision win in a grueling battle with Blagoy Ivanov.
Following a stretch where he won five of six fights to climb to the outskirts of contention in the light heavyweight ranks, Latifi has dropped his last two contests and opted to relocate. The Swedish veteran is undersized for the division in terms of his height and reach, but it will be interesting to see how his considerable power translates while moving up and if he will carry a speed and quickness edge now that he’s fighting at heavyweight.
With things at the top of the division largely squared away for the moment, this bout is an opportunity for Latifi to vault right into the thick of the heavyweight title chase and Lewis to cement his standing as one of the top contenders in the division heading into the second half of the year.
Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
I’ve been on the record many times over saying I think featherweight is the most interesting division in the UFC right now, and I’d like to submit this matchup as Exhibit B in my defense of that position; Exhibit A was the Fili-Yusuff fight last month at UFC 246.
Bektic enters this one as what fantasy sports nerds like myself would call a “post-hype sleeper,” a guy who ticketed for big things, hasn’t delivered thus far, and is still trying to make good on all that promise. What’s curious to me is how or why anyone would write off a 28-year-old with obvious talent and a 13-2 record, where those two losses came against ranked veterans in fights that were designed to determine if Bektic was ready to enter the championship mix.
While Bektic arrived in the UFC with a bunch of hype, Ige crept in the back door unnoticed. After failing to secure a contract despite a third-round finish on the Contender Series, the Las Vegas-based Hawaiian scored a short-notice opportunity at UFC 220, dropping a unanimous decision to Julio Arce. Since then, Ige has rattled off four straight wins, putting him in line for a step up in competition and a chance to prove he’s one of the top featherweights in the division.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian for the women’s flyweight title
The first championship fight of 2020 takes place in the flyweight division, as Shevcehnko goes searching for her third successful title defense against Chookagian, who looks to shock the world and pick up her fifth win since the 125-pound weight class launched in earnest at the start of 2018.
The reigning flyweight champ has lost one round over the course of her four fights in the 125-pound ranks, and the only two blemishes on her UFC resume are narrow losses to reigning featherweight and bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes. She is, without question, a special talent.
Chookagian enters as a considerable underdog looking to one-up Roxanne Modafferi after the women’s MMA pioneer authored a stunning upset of Maycee Barber at UFC 246 last month. The 31-year-old “Blonde Fighter” is 13-2 overall and 6-2 in the UFC, with each of those losses coming by way of split decision, which means one round on one card in two fights have kept her from being 8-0 and looked at in a totally different light.
Chookagian isn’t as dynamic as Shevchenko, but she’s active, moves well, and has continued to show improvements every time out. Will it be enough to knock “Bullet” from her throne? We’ll find out on February 8.
