We’re just a few hours away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) first pay-per-view (PPV) event of 2017.
From the looks of it, the event is already on its way to becoming a success. UFC President Dana White recently said the event is sold out with the gate at over $2 million. See Brett Okamoto’s tweet below:
Per Dana White, UFC 208 tonight is sold out. $2+ million gate at Barclays.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 11, 2017
UFC 208 is going down live tonight (Feb. 11) inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Headlining the card will be the inaugural women’s featherweight title bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
Holm is a former UFC women’s 135-pound champion. “The Preacher’s Daughter” lost her title to Miesha Tate at UFC 196. Holm’s attempt to rebound didn’t go her way as she was outpointed by Valentina Shevchenko. Holm will look wash away the memory of those two losses by obtaining another UFC title.
Standing in her way will be de Randamie. “The Iron Lady” has won two straight bouts, finishing both her opponents in the process. She first TKO’d Larissa Pacheco in Dallas, Texas. The title challenger then nabbed a “Performance of the Night” bonus with her first-round TKO over Anna Elmose.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Anderson Silva will go one-on-one with Derek Brunson in the co-main event. “The Spider” wants to end his current drought. He has not officially won a fight since 2012. He has a chance to show he still belongs inside the Octagon with elite middleweights.
This is easily Brunson’s most high profile fight. The Jackson-Wink fighter has fought the likes of Yoel Romero and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, but he’s never fought a former UFC champion, let alone the longest reigning title holder in the promotion’s history. A victory for Brunson would be the sixth in his last 7 fights.
Tonight’s action begins with the UFC Fight Pass prelims at a new start time of 7:30 p.m. ET. The prelims roll along on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Finally, the PPV begins at 10 p.m. ET.