UFC on FOX 9 lineup set with 12 bouts, main card official with four fights
The four-fight main card for next week’s UFC on FOX 9 event is official, and the full card is set with 12 bouts.
UFC on FOX 9, which takes place Dec. 14 in Sacramento, features a main event flyweight title fight rematch between champion Demetrious Johnson (18-2-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) and hometown fan favorite and onetime title challenger Joseph Benavidez (19-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC).
The event takes place at Sleep Train Arena in the California state capital city. FOX carries the main card live at 8 p.m. ET (5 a.m. PT) following a six-fight preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 (5 p.m. ET) and two prelims on MMAjunkie (3:30 p.m. ET).
In addition to the night’s main event, which is a fight originally planned for this past week’s TUF 18 Finale before reshuffled when a title fight between lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and Josh Thomson fell off with a Pettis injury, UFC on FOX 9 includes a bantamweight bout between Sacramento mainstay and hometown hero Urijah Faber (29-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Michael McDonald (16-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC); a welterweight contenders fight between former interim champ Carlos Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Matt Brown (18-11 MMA, 11-5 UFC); and another Sacramento-based Team Alpha Male fighter in Chad Mendes (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who opens the main card against Nik Lentz (24-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC).
The FOX Sports 1 portion of the prelims opens with a rematch between Roger Bowling (11-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Abel Trujillo (10-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who fought to a no-contest in August after a controversial knee on the ground. Bowling took a knee that from some angles appeared to connect with his head, and from others looked to hit his chest. He was unable to continue, and the referee called it a no-contest – in a fight that Bowling believed he should have won via disqualification, and Trujillo believed he should have won via TKO.
The prelims also feature the UFC debut of former Bellator bantamweight champ and current RFA flyweight champ Zach Makovsky (16-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who meets Scott Jorgensen (14-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC); Bobby Green (21-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Pat Healy (31-16 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a lightweight fight; Mac Danzig (21-11-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC) vs. Joe Lauzon (22-9 MMA, 9-6 UFC) at lightweight; a battle at 155 pounds between Edson Barboza (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Team Alpha Male product Danny Castillo (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC); and Ryan LaFlare (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Court McGee (16-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at welterweight.
Two prelims can be seen via a live stream here at MMAjunkie. Cody McKenzie (14-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) takes on Sam Stout (19-9-1 MA, 8-8 UFC) at lightweight, while flyweights Alp Ozkilic (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Darren Uyenoyama (8-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will open up the card.
The full UFC on FOX 9 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez – for UFC flyweight title
Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald
Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit
Nik Lentz vs. Chad Mendes
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET)
Ryan LaFlare vs. Court McGee
Edson Barboza vs. Danny Castillo
Mac Danzig vs. Joe Lauzon
Bobby Green vs. Pat Healy
Scott Jorgensen vs. Zach Makovsky
Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Cody McKenzie vs. Sam Stout
Alp Ozkilic vs. Darren Uyenoyama
