Tag: UFC 233

UFC cancels January’s UFC 233 after main event fails to materialize

Posted on by Josh Nason

It’s not even the end of 2018 and the start of UFC’s 2019 is already a bit of a mess.

The company announced Wednesday that UFC 233, scheduled for Saturday, January 26th in Anaheim, CA, has been “postponed” and that all scheduled fights will be moved to other shows. However, the numbering convention won’t change so the first UFC pay-per-view of the year will be February’s UFC 234 from Australia. 

The numbering non-change is consistent with their cancelation of UFC 151 in 2012 and UFC 176 in 2014 with the costs associated with changing marketing materials cited as a reason for not just changing the number of the event.

The UFC said they will still have 12 PPVs in 2019.

While not mentioned by UFC, the reason for the cancellation is they couldn’t find a main event after moving the Henry Cejudo-TJ Dillashaw flyweight title fight up a week to main event their debut on ESPN+.

With their desire to have title fights headlining PPVs and a lack of available champions to fill that slot, something had to give and it did.

To their credit, they tried to make welterweight champion Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington for Anaheim, but Woodley couldn’t do it due to a hand injury, something White spoke out against last week doing press for the Toronto PPV.

This has happened to a scheduled January Anaheim show before as UFC 208, originally scheduled for January 21, 2017, was moved to August 5, 2017.

A positive for MMA fans: Bellator’s heavyweight grand prix finals in Los Angeles featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader, the return of Aaron Pico, the debut of former WWE star Jack Swagger and more will now run unopposed.

Report: Dillashaw-Cejudo to clash in January for UFC flyweight title

Posted on by Josh Nason

It appears that, at least for one more night, the UFC flyweight title will live.

An early Friday morning report by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has the UFC looking to finally sign a long-discussed fight between flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for January’s UFC 233 in Los Angeles.

However, the fight would not be for Dillashaw’s 135-pound title but for Cejudo’s strap instead, a surprise considering FloCombat’s report this week that the UFC is abandoning the division sooner than later. Okamoto could not confirm whether the fight would be the final one for the division.

If Dillashaw was to win, he would become the company’s fifth two-division champion (Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier).

Cejudo won the title from long reigning champion Demetrious Johnson earlier this year. Johnson’s contract was “traded” to ONE Fighting Championship for the contract of Ben Askren. This week, Askren vs. Robbie Lawler was signed for the January show as well.

Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler tabbed for January’s UFC 233

Posted on by Josh Nason

According to a report Monday night, one of the UFC’s new acquisitions will see his Octagon debut come in the first month of 2019 against a former UFC champion, no less. 

First reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren has agreed to face former UFC welterweight champion and fan favorite Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 on January 26th at Anaheim, CA’s Honda Center — the company’s first PPV of the new year.

Okamoto said the deals aren’t signed yet, but that both sides are working on getting it finalized.

At one point, a rumor had Lawler linked up with former title contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson for the promotion’s first event on ESPN+.

The 34-year-old Askren is undefeated (18-0-0-1) and has been retired since he defeated Shinya Aoki in less than a minute in November 2017. The 36-year-old Lawler has been on the shelf mending injuries since he was dominated by Rafael dos Anjos in December 2017. The former champion has lost two of his last three.

While never officially announced following the “trade” that brought his contract to the UFC and Demetrious Johnson’s contract to ONE, Askren was present at Saturday’s UFC 230 in New York City and did a media scrum where he called out a slew of fighters.

The show will also go head to head with Bellator’s heavyweight championship Grand Prix finals at the Forum in Inglewood, CA.