UFC International Fight Week headlined by pair of blockbuster title fights

Las Vegas, April 18: The eighth annual International Fight Week will feature a stacked card headlined by a pair of thrilling world championship fights streaming exclusively on ESPN+.

Light heavyweight champion and No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Jon Jones defends against dangerous No. 3 ranked contender Thiago Santos. Also, two-division champion and No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter Amanda Nunes puts her bantamweight belt on the line against former titleholder and No. 2 ranked Holly Holm.

UFC 239: JONES vs. SANTOS takes place Saturday, July 6 at T-Mobile Arena and will stream live nationally on Pay-Per-View exclusively through ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT in both English and Spanish.

ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events to fans in the United States as part of an agreement announced last month and continuing through 2025.

IFW is almost here!

Get your Fight Club tickets now ➡️ https://t.co/3S7lhUQY2L #UFC239 #UFCFightWeek pic.twitter.com/glPvuxIhL8

— UFC Fight Club (@ufcfightclub) April 17, 2019

Fans will be able to purchase UFC 239: JONES vs. SANTOS online at ESPNPlus.com/PPV and then will be able to watch it via the web or on the ESPN App on any connected device.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN app on all major mobile and connected TV devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, X Box One and more.

Preliminary fights will air nationally in English and Spanish on ESPN and ESPN Deportes television networks starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the early prelims simulcast on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT.

ICYMI: @JonnyBones defends the LHW title @TMarretaMMA at #UFC239.#UFCFightWeek pic.twitter.com/KHVUFdMXL1

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 7, 2019

Arguably the most dominant champion in UFC light heavyweight history, Jones (24-1 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) will go for his third title fight victory in less than seven months. Over the course of his career, he's taken out the biggest names in MMA.

Jones holds spectacular wins over Daniel Cormier, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida and Alexander Gustafsson (twice). He once again aims to steal the show against one of the division's toughest strikers.

A vicious KO artist, Santos (21-6, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) turned heads when he joined the 205-pound weight class less than a year ago.

Since the move, he has netted incredible knockout victories against Jan Błachowicz, Jimi Manuwa and Eryk Anders. Santos has also earned an impressive TKO finish over recent title challenger Anthony Smith. The heavy-handed kickboxer now looks to put on another striking clinic and capture his first UFC world championship.

#UFCFightWeek looking S T A C K E D ❗@Amanda_Leoa puts the gold on the line against @HollyHolm at #UFC239! 🦁🏆 pic.twitter.com/YR8JYIwJ5c

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 12, 2019

The first woman to hold championships in two UFC divisions, Nunes (17-4, fighting out of Miami, Fla. by way of Pojuca, Brazil) made history by knocking out Cris Cyborg in only 51 seconds to secure the featherweight championship this past December.

Considered to be the greatest female fighter in MMA history, she has also finished former champs Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, as well as Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann. Nunes now has her sights set on the bantamweight division's most decorated striker.

Former champion Holm (12-4, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) turned the MMA world on its head following a highlight-reel head-kick KO win over previously unbeaten Ronda Rousey in 2015 to capture the title.

A multiple time boxing and kickboxing champion, she has also delivered sensational victories against former title challengers Bethe Correia and Raquel Pennington. She is now gunning to reclaim her championship and hand Nunes her first loss in more than four years.

Additional bouts on the card include:

• In a battle of heavyweight KO artists, No. 2 ranked contender Francis Ngannou (13-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Batie, Cameroon) locks horns with former champion and No. 3 Junior Dos Santos (21-5, fighting out of Salvador, Brazil)

• Surging welterweight contenders collide as No. 4 ranked Jorge Masvidal (33-13, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) takes on undefeated No. 5 Ben Askren (19-0 1NC, fighting out of Hartland, Wisc.)

• No. 6 ranked light heavyweight contender Jan Błachowicz (23-8, fighting out of Warsaw, Poland) welcomes No. 2 ranked middleweight Luke Rockhold (16-4, fighting out of Santa Cruz, Calif.) to the 205-pound division

• In a clash of The Ultimate Fighter winners, season one champ Diego Sanchez (31-11, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) faces season 15 victor Michael Chiesa (15-4, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.)

Source: Press Release