The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially announced the main event for UFC 233, set to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim on January 26th, 2019 as UFC World Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo will defend his championship against the current UFC World Bantamweight Champion, T.J. Dillashaw.
? vs ?@HenryCejudo defends the flyweight belt against bantamweight champ @TJDillashaw at #UFC233 in Anaheim at the @HondaCenter!
? ?? Dec. 7 pic.twitter.com/QCFj6NoFFA
— UFC (@ufc) November 27, 2018
The upcoming title defense will be the first for Los Angeles native and Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo (MMA Record: 13-2) since ending the nearly six-year record-setting title reign of former champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at UFC 227 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on August 4th, 2018.
His opponent, T.J. Dillashaw (MMA Record: 16-3), is also coming off a victory after defeating Cody Garbrandt in the main event of UFC 227 o retain the Bantamweight title. Dillashaw, who is currently the UFC Bantamweight Champion, looks to become the third fighter in UFC history to hold championships in two divisions at the same time. The only other fighters to accomplish this feat in the UFC have been Conor McGregor, who held the UFC Featherweight and Lightweight titles simultaneously, and Daniel Cormier, who currently holds the UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles.
Both Cejudo and Dillashaw have been public about their desire to fight each other since Cejudo’s victory over Demetrious Johnson in August. Shortly after UFC 227, both fighters appeared on the newsmagazine show Extra with Mario Lopez for a face-to-face confrontation. During the segment, the two champions called each other out for a fight.
It's on, @UFC fans! @tjdillashaw & @henrycejudo are ready! #UFC @MarioLopezExtra pic.twitter.com/dVLfVyPh5V
— ExtraTV (@extratv) August 13, 2018
Reports of a proposed bout between the two at UFC 233 began to make the rounds in the weeks prior to the official announcement by the UFC. Rumors also circulated that the UFC would be dissolving the flyweight division and that a title bout between Cejudo and Dillashaw could be the last UFC Flyweight title fight in UFC history. On the November 12th edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Dillashaw spoke about the rumored bout.
“The UFC wants to get rid of the division in my eyes. They hired me to go down and close it and get another belt in the process,” said Dillashaw. “It’s a win-win for me, man. They’re paying me a fuck load of money to move down and kill the 125-pound division and collect a second belt. So it’s game time.”
Other bouts to take place at UFC 233 in Anaheim include:
- Ben Askren (MMA Record: 18–0 (1 NC)) vs. Robbie Lawler (MMA Record: 28–12 (1 NC))
- James Vick (MMA Record: 15-2) vs. Paul Felder (MMA Record: 19-4)
- Joanne Calderwood (MMA Record: 12-3) vs. Ariane Lipski (MMA Record: 11-3)
- Markus Perez (MMA Record: 10-2) vs. Anthony Hernandez (MMA Record: 7-0)
- Alexander Hernandez (MMA Record: 10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (MMA Record: 23–6)
- Marion Reneau (MMA Record: 9-4-1) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (MMA Record: 11–4 (1 NC))
UFC 233 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on January 26th, 2019. Tickets go on sale December 7th. UFC 233 is scheduled to air live on pay-per-view. Broadcast details for prelim bouts have yet to be announced. UFC 233 will also take place on the same night as Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.
Stay tuned to SoCalUncensored.com for news and updates.
