UFC Fight Night 166
Sunday 26 January 2020
PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
UFC Fight Night 166 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States on Sunday 26 January 2020 is headlined by a Heavyweight match between Curtis Blaydes (12-2-0, 1 NC) and Junior dos Santos (21-6-0).
Blaydes is chasing a third straight win after overcoming Justin Willis and Shamil Abdurakhimov in his two fights in 2019, and a victory over a former UFC Heavyweight champion such as dos Santos will put him in the frame to challenge Stipe Miocic for the belt, while a potential bout with Jon Jones (who is mooted to move up to Heavyweight) is another event on his horizon.
"One of the prerequisites of being the (greatest of all time) is that you can hang with anybody regardless of their weight class," said Blaydes. "That's how I view Jon Jones. I think he bumps up to heavyweight. That's an opportunity one day for me to get to prove and test my skills against arguably the greatest of all time."
Dos Santos, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back both from a defeat to Francis Ngannou in June last year and a recent leg infection which landed him in hospital in his home country Brazil.
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“It was extremely serious,” dos Santos explained. “I spent a week in the hospital thinking that I would get cleared and fight [Alexander Volkov at UFC Moscow last year], but the doctor came to me and said, ‘You don’t understand how serious this is.’ He said I was lucky to be a healthy man and that I went to the hospital soon enough, otherwise I could have gone straight to ICU.”
The main card also features the following fights: Rafael dos Anjos (29-12-0) v Michael Chiesa (16-4-0) as the co-main event in the Welterweight division; Jordan Espinosa (14-6-0, 1 NC) v Alex Perez (22-5-0) in the Flyweight division; a Women Strawweight battle between Hannah Cifers (10-3-0) and Angela Hill (10-7-0); and Jamahal Hill (6-0-0) v Darko Stosic (13-3-0) in the Light Heavyweight division.
UFC Fight Night 166 – Main Card
Main event: Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes (12-2-0, 1 NC) v Junior dos Santos (21-6-0)
Co-main event: Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos (29-12-0) v Michael Chiesa (16-4-0)
Flyweight: Jordan Espinosa (14-6-0, 1 NC) v Alex Perez (22-5-0)
Women Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (10-3-0) v Angela Hill (10-7-0)
Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill (6-0-0) v Darko Stosic (13-3-0)
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