The UFC has announced three mammoth matchups for its UFC on Fox 16 card July 25 in Chicago.
During Tuesday’s edition of America’s Pregame on Fox Sports 1, it was reported that UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will defend his title in a rematch against his predecessor to the 135-pound throne, Renan Barao.
In addition, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will take on Myles “Fury” Jury and top women’s bantamweights Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye will square off and look to establish themselves as contenders to Ronda Rousey‘s championship throne.
The UFC most recently visited Chicago’s United Center with UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson in January 2014. Before that, the UFC brought a flyweight title matchup between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Dodson to the Windy City in January 2013.
Now, it’s making an emphatic return for 2015 with a card that already has a solid foundation in place with the three matchups announced on America’s Pregame.
Dillashaw took the bantamweight strap from Barao in May 2014 at UFC 173 and defended his title against Joe Soto at UFC 177 in August of that year. He was originally slated to rematch Barao at that event before the Brazilian was forced to pull out at the last minute, as reported by MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson and John Morgan.
The UFC attempted to reschedule the rematch for April 25’s UFC 186 card, but Dillashaw suffered a rib injury and had to be removed from the lineup, per MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson.
Perhaps the third time will be the charm for these two, as they are now slated to settle their score at UFC on Fox 16 in late July.
Pettis, meanwhile, makes a quick return to the cage against the No. 8-ranked Jury after losing his lightweight title after just one defense. While he was heavily favored to win his UFC 185 showdown against Rafael dos Anjos on March 14, Pettis was battered for 25 minutes and dropped a unanimous decision.
Jury’s momentum was similarly halted, as he suffered a loss for the first time in 16 professional bouts against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 182 in January.
Both Tate and Eye, meanwhile, are coming off wins and will look to stake their claim for Rousey‘s strap with a win at UFC on Fox 16.
Tate is the winner of three straight since losing to Rousey in December 2013, while Eye is coming off a dominant TKO victory over Leslie Smith at UFC 180 in November of last year.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as this card continues to take shape.
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