UFC 207 is a mixed martial arts event that will take place on December 30, 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
The card was initially headlined by a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship rematch between current champion Amanda Nunes and former champion Ronda Rousey, but it was announced on November 29, 2016 that Nunes pulled out due to illness.
The new main event features two of the most highly regarded heavyweights with former champion Fabricio Werdum taking on No.1 contender Cain Velasquez for the interim title. Read to find out more about this event!
Ronda Rousey’s return
She is one of the most famous faces in MMA, and she has an amazing fighting record. Rousey has won her last four fights in a row, and she is definitely due for a knockout victory.
The fight with Nunes was originally the main event, but Nunes got sick so it will be Velasquez instead.
It’s not just Rousey that UFC is excited about either. It also looks like Conor McGregor will be making his return to UFC during the same week as well!
Amanda Nunes’ rise to the top
The first time Amanda Nunes was on a UFC card, she had a small role as a cornerman for Lyoto Machida’s fight against Mauricio Rua in Brazil. That was eight years ago. Today, the Brazilian is one of the most dominant women to ever step inside an octagon.
Nunes gave up her Muay Thai career to become a professional MMA fighter and has only lost three fights since then. This includes two by submission, once to current champion Ronda Rousey and another to Cat Zingano.
She earned her shot at the championship belt by finishing Miesha Tate at UFC 200 last July. Ironically, her opponent at UFC 207 will be Tate who is coming off of a decisive victory against Jessica Eye.
Dominick Cruz’s first title defense in five years
The reason I’m including this is because it has been five years since Cruz defended the belt. He was matched up against TJ Dillashaw, who had beaten Renan Barao to become champion.
Urijah Faber, the former titleholder, was also on the card to coach with him. Faber had relinquished his belt before this fight though to focus on coaching after he lost twice in a row for the first time in his career. This was not your typical fight though.
Cruz won the fight after 5 rounds and he celebrated by giving TJ Dillashaw an extended hug. It may seem strange that Cruz would give Dillashaw all of that respect but he didn’t have any hard feelings about losing his belt.
Cody Garbrandt vs TJ Dillashaw, the 135lb championship fight
This fight is for the 135lb championship belt and this is UFC’s first event of the new year. This fight will be between Cody Garbrandt (8-0) and TJ Dillashaw (14-3).
The fight has been all set up as a title defense for champion Dominick Cruz, who has not defended his belt in five years. He lost it after having two straight losses to Urijah Faber and Renan Barao.
Cruz was fighting against TJ Dillashaw, the current champion but then was forced out of the match because of another injury. This left Garbrandt as Cruz’s replacement and he is now fighting for the championship belt instead.
What channel is UFC on
UFC 207 is on FS1 This will be available to all cable subscribers with an HD TV who have the Destination America Channel.
It will also be through streaming on the FOX Sports GO app which can be downloaded for free to any device. Stay tuned!
Conclusion
Many people are eagerly anticipating the event for this Saturday, December 30th. The event features Ronda Rousey’s return after a thirteen-month hiatus from professional fighting.
