The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view on Saturday, February 8 and they plan on holding a special tribute during UFC 247 — which features two title fights. In the main event, Jon Jones defends his light heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes, while Valentina Shevchenko puts her women’s flyweight championship on the line against Katlyn Chookagian.
But before we get to the main event, UFC president Dana White revealed that the UFC will be holding a special tribute for NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who recently died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.
“This is the first fight since it happened and, yes, we’re going to do something for Kobe,” White told TMZ.
The UFC boss later revealed Kobe was an investor in the MMA promotion.
“You look at Kobe the basketball player, right? Then the guy won an Oscar, and all the other things that this guy has accomplished in his life – also he was one of the big investors in Body Armor, the company that’s a sponsor of the UFC,” White said.
“He was also an investor in the UFC, and the UFC killed it last year. I mean 2019, when I say 2019 was our best year – others years, 2019’s through the roof. It was massive. So the owners got a distribution, and Kobe got a distribution from the UFC, the Wednesday before the incident, and he was so pumped up and so excited.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqvzx-Otg18
The UFC 247 main card will officially kickoff at 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 8 exclusively on pay-per-view.
UFC 247: Fight Time & Viewing Details
Event: UFC 247: Jones vs Reyes
Date: Saturday, February 8
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Toyota Center
Main Card Card Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+
UFC 247 Fight Card
Main Card (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View)
- Jon Jones (c) vs. Dominick Reyes – light heavyweight championship
- Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Katlyn Chookagian – flyweight championship
- Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
- Mirsad Bektić vs. Dan Ige
- Derrick Lewis vs. Ilir Latifi
Prelims (8 p.m. ET on ESPN)
- Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Vera
- Trevin Gyles vs. Antonio Arroyo
- Alex Moreno vs. Kalinn Williams — Dhiego Lima Injured
- Lauren Murphy vs. Andrea Lee
Early Prelims (6:15 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass)
- Myles Johns vs. Mario Bautista
- Domingo Pilarte vs. Journey Newson
- Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez