Your guide to UFC 220 at TD Garden
The octagon returns to Boston Saturday night with UFC 220 at TD Garden, and it promises to be entertaining, capped off with the main event between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and No. 1 challenger Francis Ngannou.
“It’s probably the greatest heavyweight championship fight we’ve ever put on,’’ UFC president Dana White said in an interview on Wednesday.
Sure, it’s White’s job to sell the event, but it’s easy to see why UFC fans are eagerly anticipating the card. Here’s your guide to UFC 220:
Event details
When: Saturday, Jan. 20
Where: TD Garden
Time: Early prelims at 6:30 p.m. Prelims at 8 p.m. Main card at 10 p.m.
How to watch
TV: The main card will air on pay-per-view. The prelims will be on FS1, and the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass
Online: www.ufc.tv
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
Main card
Miocic (17-2) vs. Ngannou (11-1): Despite the fact Miocic is the defending champion, Ngannou is considered the favorite. If Miocic prevails, he would set a UFC record for consecutive heavyweight title defenses at three.
Pronunciation guide: It’s Stee-pay Me-o-chick and Francis In-gone-you.
Volkan Oezdemir
Daniel Cormier (19-1) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (15-1): Cormier is the reigning light heavyweight champ, while Oezdemir is the No. 2 challenger. It will be Cormier’s first fight since losing to Jon Jones on July 29 at UFC 214. However, the fight was changed to a no-contest when Jones tested positive for the steroid Turinabol.
Calvin Kattar (17-2) vs. Shane Burgos (10-0): This could be a great matchup of featherweights. Burgos is undefeated and the favorite. The winner of this match would advance his career significantly and be in line to face a Top 10 opponent
Gian Villante (15-9) vs. Francimar Barroso (19-5, 1 NC): These two light heavyweights have been fighting in UFC in 2013, but neither have been able to string together more than two consecutive wins. Villante lost his last two fights, while Barroso is also coming off of a defeat.
Thomas Almeida (22-2) vs. Rob Font (14-3): Both bantamweights were climbing the ranks before slipping in a recent fight. Almeida started his career 21-0 before dropping two out of his last three, while Font, a native of Leominster, is coming off of a loss to Pedro Munoz.
Also scheduled to fight
Kyle Bochniak (7-2) vs. Brandon Davis (8-2)
Sabash Homasi (11-7) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (8-1)
Dustin Ortiz (17-7) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (18-2)
Dan Ige (8-1) vs. Julio Arce (13-2)
Early prelims
Matt Bessette (22-7) vs. Enrique Barzola (14-3-1)
Maryna Moroz (8-2) vs. Jamie Moyle (4-2)
Islam Makhachev (14-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (41-11)
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