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UFC Ends 2018 With Two Massive Title Fights

In a bout to crown a new light heavyweight champion, former titleholder Jon Jones will take on No.1 contender Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch of their 2013 classic.

Title bouts headline UFC 232

Las Vegas, November 7: UFC will put an exclamation point on 2018 with a pair of blockbuster world championship fights. In a bout to crown a new light heavyweight champion, former titleholder Jon Jones will take on No.1 contender Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch of their 2013 classic. Also, women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg aims for her third successful defense against bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes. UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 takes place Saturday, December 29 from T-Mobile Arena and will air live on Pay-Per-View.

The most dominant light heavyweight champion ever, Jones (23-1 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) is looking to regain his spot atop the division. During his previous reign, he earned spectacular victories over Daniel Cormier, Glover Teixeira, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Quinton Jackson. His first encounter with Gustafsson yielded arguably the greatest light heavyweight championship fight in UFC history. He's now ready to run it back against one of the toughest tests of his career.

A two-time title challenger, Gustafsson (18-4, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) is hoping the third time will prove to be the charm. A talented and devastating striker, he has netted incredible wins against Glover Teixeira, Jimi Manuwa, Shogun Rua, Vladimir Matyushenko and Matt Hamill. Though he came up short against Jones in their first bout, he came close to edging the then-champ on judges' scorecards. He is now gunning to even the score and capture UFC gold.

The first and only women's featherweight champion, Cyborg (20-1 1NC, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif. by way of Curitiba, Brazil) has not lost a bout in over 13 years. Throughout her storied career, she has secured thrilling victories over former bantamweight champ Holly Holm, Yana Kunitskaya, Tonya Evinger, Marloes Coenen and Gina Carano. She's now poised to put on another vintage performance and deliver her 18th career knockout victory.

Nunes (16-4, fighting out of Miami, Fla. by way Salvador, Brazil) looks to make history by becoming the first female two-division champ in UFC history. During her current run of dominance, she's picked up impressive wins against UFC Hall of Fame inductee and inaugural titleholder Ronda Rousey, former champ Miesha Tate, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington and Sara McMann. She now plays the role of underdog against the most destructive women's fighter the sport has ever seen.

Additional bouts on the card include:

Former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit (30-12, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) welcomes dangerous finisher Michael Chiesa (14-4, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) to the 170-pound division

In a clash of light heavyweight contenders, No.4-ranked Ilir Latifi (15-5 1NC, fighting out of Malmo, Sweden) looks to keep his momentum rolling against surging No.7 Corey Anderson (12-4, fighting out of Robbinsville, N.J.)

Two-time featherweight title challenger and No.5-ranked contender Chad Mendes (18-4, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) squares off with rising No.11 Alexander Volkanovski (18-1, fighting out of Windang, Australia)

Former heavyweight champ and No.13-ranked contender Andrei Arlovski (27-17 1NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill. by way of Minsk, Belarus) aims to rebound against hard-hitting Walt Harris (11-7, fighting out of Birmingham, Ala.)

No.6-ranked women's bantamweight contender Cat Zingano (9-3, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) moves up to featherweight to face former Invicta champ Megan Anderson (8-3, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo. by way of Gold Coast, Australia)

Former two-division champion BJ Penn (16-12-2, fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii) returns against The Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Hall (6-1, fighting out of Falls Church, Va.)

No.14-ranked bantamweight contender Douglas Silva de Andrade (25-2 1NC, fighting out of Castanhal, Brazil) takes on fellow hot prospect Petr Yan (10-1, fighting out of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia)

Tom Duquesnoy (15-2 1NC, fighting out of Paris, France) meets Nathaniel Wood (14-3, fighting out of London, England) in a battle of bantamweight prospects

No.12-ranked middleweight contender Uriah Hall (14-9, fighting out of Queens, N.Y.) meets Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series contract winner Bevon Lewis (5-0, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.)

Curtis Millender (16-3, fighting out of Fullerton, Calif.) locks horns with seasoned veteran Siyar Bahadurzada (23-6-1, fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands by way of Kabul, Afghanistan)

Source: Press Release

Story first published: Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 12:15 [IST]
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