Edmonton, Alberta will be getting a PPV event on September 9 and the night’s feature bouts have been revealed to be a pair of title fights.
UFC 215 in Edmonton headlined by two title fights
The fights were first announced via TSN.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Ray Borg
[UFC Flyweight Championship]
Johnson (26-2-1) will be looking to make a UFC record breaking 11th defense of his UFC Flyweight Championship. He won the inaugural flyweight title by defeating Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 in Toronto, Canada in 2012. So it’s only fitting he now breaks this record in Canada. Since winning the belt he has become widely regarded as the pound-for-pound best fighter alive and has since become an all-time great contender. Of his ten title defenses, he has finished six of his opponents with a variety of submissions and knockouts.
In his record-tying title defense, Johnson submitted BJJ-Ace Wilson Reis. Since becoming the champion he has also finished Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, Japanese superstar Kyoji Horiguchi, Chris Cariaso, Joseph Benavidez, and John Moraga.
Borg (11-2) will be 24-years-old come fight time and has been a highly touted since making his UFC debut in 2014 as a 6-0 prospect. Borg has won two-straight against Louis Smolka and Jussier Formiga, both of which were by decision. Worth noting that he missed weight for the Smolka fight.
Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko II
[UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship]
Nunes (14-4) was set to defend her title against Shevchenko at UFC 213 on July 8 but was hospitalized on fight day for undisclosed reasons, and the fight was canceled. Nunes beat Shevchenko by a close unanimous decision at UFC 196 last year. However, the bout was only three rounds instead of the now championship five, and Nunes was visibly fading in the 3rd round which is what makes a title rematch between the two so intriguing.
She choked out a bloody Miesha Tate at UFC 200 last July to become the women’s bantamweight champion and made the first defense of her title when she made quick work out of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, defeating her in just 48 seconds.
Shevchenko (14-2) had a five-fight win streak snapped at the hands of Nunes in 2016. Since the loss, she has looked virtually flawless. Winning two-straight, Shevchenko put on an incredible striking display when she defeated former champion Holly Holm by decision last July. In January of this year, Shevchenko had the main event slot against Julianna Pena in Denver. The bout was referred to as a striker vs. grappler match-up, but Shevchenko shockingly earned a performance bonus by submitting the grappler in round two.
Along with the two title fights, Canada’s Kajan Johnson returns from a two-year absence to take on Brazil’s Adriano Martins.
Johnson went 2-0 in 2015, defeating Naoyuki Kotani in Japan and Zhang Lipeng in the Phillippines. Martins had a three-fight win streak (two of those being first round KO’s) snapped by fellow Brazilian Leonardo Santos at UFC 214.
