UFC 245 Preview: 3 belts on the line
The UFC 245 main card begins at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 14
Usman vs Covington - Welterweight title fight
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman makes the first defense of his title when he faces former interim titleholder Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 245.
Usman (14-1) captured the welterweight title after dominating former champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 en route to a unanimous decision victory.
"The Nigerian Nightmare" remains undefeated in the Octagon and has gone the distance eight times during his UFC career.
Covington (15-1) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark in August. "Chaos" defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 to win the interim welterweight championship, only to have his belt stripped earlier this year due to lack of activity. The 31-year-old carries a seven-fight win streak into this championship bout and is 10-1 overall in the Octagon.
Holloway vs. Volkanovski - Featherweight title fight
Max Holloway defends his featherweight title in the co-main event against Alexander Volkanovski.
Holloway (21-4) has won 14 of his last 15 fights, including a unanimous decision win over Frankie Edgar in his last fight at UFC 240 in July. This will be the first time since June 2016 that "Blessed" hasn't competed in the main event.
Volkanovski (20-1) hasn't lost since May 2013 and carries a 17-fight win streak (seven straight wins in the UFC) into this title fight. The 31-year-old boasts wins over former champion Jose Aldo and two-time title challenger Chad Mendes, who he knocked out last December at UFC 232.
Nunes vs. De Randamie - Women's bantamweight title fight
Amanda Nunes defends her women's bantamweight title against Germaine de Randamie on the PPV main card.
Nunes (18-4) made quick work of de Randamie in their first bout, stopping "Iron Lady" via first-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 31 in November 2013. Since that win, Nunes has gone 9-1 in the Octagon, including victories over Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg. The 31-year-old has finished her last three opponents and hasn't gone the distance in a fight since August 2017.
De Randamie (9-3) has gone undefeated since losing to Nunes, and she boasts a five-fight win streak. The 35-year-old is coming off an impressive 16-second TKO victory over previously undefeated Aspen Ladd at UFC Sacramento in July. It's the first time de Randamie has fought twice in one year since 2013.
UFC 245 takes place Saturday, Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Here's an updated look at the card.
Main Card
- Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Colby Covington - Welterweight title
- Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski - Featherweight title
- Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie - Bantamweight title
- Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
- Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber
Prelims
- Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
- Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders
- Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
- Ketlen Vieira vs. Irene Aldana
- Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara France
- Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo
- Punahele Soriano vs. Oskar Piechota