UFC 231 marks the return of the organization to Toronto, and it does it with an event including two thrilling title fights taking place at Scotiabank Arena.
First, the No. 1 ranked Valentina Shevchenko (15-3) battles former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (15-2) for the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title, and then Max Holloway (19-3) fights Brian Ortega (14-0, 1 NC) for the UFC featherweight championship fight in the night’s main event.
Shevchenko looked impressive in her last fight, a win against Priscila Cachoeira, but hasn’t had a chance to fight for the title as her title bouts against Nicco Montano and Sijara Eubanks were canceled.
Now she’s getting her opportunity as she’s set to fight Jedrzejczyk, one of the best female fighters to ever step into the octagon.
Jedrzejczyk dominated the strawweight division for years as she defended her belt five times before losing twice to Rose Namajunas. She finally got back in the win column with a victory against Tecia Torres in July and now has the chance to be called champion once again if she wins this combat.
The main event features the long-awaited featherweight title fight between Holloway and Ortega, a fight that was originally scheduled to take place in UFC 226, butHolloway pulled out due to concussion-like symptoms.
Holloway has won 12 consecutive fights (he last lost to Conor McGregor in 2013), including back-to-back title fight wins over Jose Aldo to win and defend the division’s title belt,
Holloway hasn’t fought in a year and now faces a tough challenge against one of the fastest rising prospects in the sport in Ortega, who has never lost and is coming off impressive wins over Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson.
The three other fights included in the main card are Alex Olivera against Gunnar Nelson (welterweight), Hakeem Dawodu taking on Kylo Bochniak (featherweight), and Jimi Manuwa clashing with Thiago Santos (light heavyweight).
