International Fight Week begins with a pair of stacked cards in the lead-up to UFC 200.
On Thursday, July 7, the UFC’s Fight Pass platform plays host to a fun Fight Night event headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Rafael Dos Anjos and well-traveled challenger Eddie Alvarez.
On Friday, July 8, Fox Sports 1 features The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. In its main event, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk takes on Claudia Gadelha in a rematch of their contentious December 2014 meeting that launched Jedrzejczyk into a title shot and something close to stardom.
These two main events are among the best fights that can be made in their respective divisions, and in the case of Jedrzejczyk-Gadelha, one of the best possible fights in the entire promotion.
Neither event is big on name value outside the main events, but they’re both stacked with fantastic matchmaking. The Fight Night co-main event features a heavyweight slobberknocker between Roy Nelson and the rising Derrick Lewis, while Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks—a top-five fighter by any measure—makes his UFC debut against Ross Pearson at the TUF finale.
Blue-chip Korean prospect Doo Ho Choi returns to action against Thiago Tavares after yet another first-round knockout win, Ireland’s Joe Duffy takes on Mitch Clarke and action fighter Alan Jouban takes on exciting newcomer Belal Muhammad.
Even the preliminary cards have fun fights to look forward to. Thursday’s bantamweight scrap between Dileno Lopes and Anthony Birchak should be fiery, while Jake Matthews and Kevin Lee meet in a fantastic lightweight fight on Friday.
These are two fun cards topped with outstanding title fights. Let’s take a look at each matchup.