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UFC 253 now has two title fights as the company announces the 205-pound championship between Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz.
Early this week, the UFC revealed the booking of a light heavyweight matchup between top-tier fighters Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz for UFC 253 on September 26. Late Tuesday night, the company raised the stakes a lot higher.
Per the official announcement via Twitter, Reyes and Blachowicz will now fight for the vacant 205-pound title. These developments came after perennial titleholder Jon Jones decided to vacate the belt and move onto the heavyweight division.
The crown is for the taking at #UFC253! pic.twitter.com/yKMzVLLXnG
— UFC (@ufc) August 19, 2020
This will be Reyes’ second shot at UFC gold following his UFC 247 title fight against Jones in early February, where he lost via a controversial unanimous decision verdict. Blachowicz, on the other hand, was supposedly Jones’ next intended challenger.
UFC 253 now has two title fights on the card. Topping it all off is the middleweight championship grudge match between Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa. Also part of the card is the return of lone TUF 1 alum Diego Sanchez, who faces Australian up-and-comer Jake Matthews.
As of this posting, UFC 253’s venue has yet to be finalized. The company already requested for permits from the Nevada Athletic Commission to have their September events held at the APEX facility in Las Vegas.