Only Jon Jones could get away with a polo neck to a stare-down.
Chris Unger/GettyUFC 247 is almost here, and this one is absolutely intriguing. At this point Jon Jones is almost certainly the greatest fighter we've seen in the Octagon. He's essentially undefeated and has a resume few, outside maybe GSP, can match. So when he fights at UFC 247, against undefeated up-and-comer Dominick Reyes, you should probably tune in.
But is this a squash match? Not exactly. Although Jones is coming in (rightly) as a massive favourite, there's a big chance Reyes can get the upset here, mainly because Reyes' strengths match up well against some of Jones' known weaknesses. In the past Jones has struggled with slick boxers (Alexander Gustafsson) and good leg kickers (Thiago Santos). Reyes just so happens to be a very slick boxer, with good lateral movement, who tends to kick extremely well both to the legs and the head.
There's also the fact that Jones came extremely close to losing his last match against Thiago Santos, who fought most of the match with a severely busted up knee. It's easy to forget, but once upon a time Anderson Silva looked completely unbeatable before losing to Chris Weidman. Father time comes for us all.
How to watch
This year the UFC entered a new partnership with ESPN. That's great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, bad news for consumer choice. If you live in the US especially.
Note that CNET may get a share of the revenue if you buy any services linked via our site.
In the US, you can only watch UFC 247 on PPV through ESPN+. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options, according to ESPN's site.
- Existing yearly ESPN+ subscribers can buy the event for $65.
- Existing monthly ESPN+ subscribers will be able to either upgrade to an annual plan and purchase UFC PPV for $85 OR purchase the UFC PPV for $65 by itself.
- New ESPN+ subscribers can buy a bundle of one UFC PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN+ annual recurring subscription for $85. The ESPN+ annual subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN+ annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans in the UK can watch UFC 245 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 245 through Main Event on Foxtel. You can also watch on the UFC website or using its app. You can even order using your PlayStation 4 or using the UFC app on your Xbox One.
Start time
UFC 247 takes place on Saturday Feb. 8 in the US.
Here are the start times by region.
United States
The Main Card starts at 10 p.m. (ET)
The Prelims start at 8 p.m. (ET)
The Early Prelims start at 6:15 p.m. (ET)
United Kingdom
(Note in the UK UFC 247 runs through into Sunday Feb. 9.)
The Main Card starts at 3 a.m. (GMT)
The Prelims start at 1 a.m. (GMT)
The Early Prelims start at 11:15 p.m. (GMT)
Australia
(Note in Australia UFC 247 starts on Sunday, Feb. 9.)
The Main Card starts at 2 p.m. (AEDT)
The Prelims start at 12 p.m. (AEDT)
The Early Prelims start at 10:15 a.m. (AEDT)
Who's fighting?
Main card
Jon Jones (c) vs. Dominick Reyes
Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
Derrick Lewis vs. Ilir Latifi
Prelims
Trevin Giles vs. Antonio Arroyo
Alex Morono vs. Kalinn Williams
Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
Early Prelims
Miles Johns vs. Mario Bautista
Domingo Pilarte vs. Journey Nelson
Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez
Is it worth buying?
It's a very top heavy card. UFC 247 is one of those "big" cards featuring two title fights, but the second title fight is Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian and Chookagian has about as close to no chance as you can get (Shevchenko is a -1100 favourite). Not only that, but Shevchenko's last title fight was one of the dullest championship bouts in recent history.
The card does feature Derrick Lewis, however, one of the greatest personalities in MMA.
But the real selling point is the main event, which is incredibly compelling. That is a fight you won't want to miss.
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