AFTER IT WAS confirmed earlier this week that Robbie Lawler will defend his welterweight belt in Atlanta on 30 July, it has now been announced that the UFC 201 bill will also include Demetrious Johnson’s next flyweight title defence.
Lawler will aim to successfully defend the 170lbs title for the third time when he faces Tyron Woodley in the pay-per-view card’s main event at the Philips Arena.
The co-headliner will feature an unexpected outing for Johnson, whose 125lbs crown will be up for grabs in a meeting with Brazilian veteran Wilson Reis, who’s currently ranked eighth in the flyweight division.
Reis is 4-2 in the UFC (20-6 overall) since he joined the organisation in 2013 following a memorable Cage Warriors bantamweight bout against Dubliner Owen Roddy, from which the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt emerged victorious via third-round submission.
Reis has also competed for other top promotions such as Bellator and EliteXC. Earlier in his career, the 31-year-old picked up significant wins over the likes of Zach Makovsky and Bryan Caraway.
Johnson (24-2-1), who’s undefeated since a 2011 loss to UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, is ranked second in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. The 29-year-old American will be making his ninth defence of the flyweight title.
The winner will go on to defend the belt against The Ultimate Fighter: Season 24 champion. That season is due to begin filming this summer.
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No way Ronaldo will play now, terrified of Stephen So he is
Take it easy on him ward
Maybe the headline literally means he has a date with Ronaldo?
Bit of dinner, few pints after and maybe out dancing then?
Wine dine 69
I don’t think they will play him since he’s not been fit for the past few weeks. Imagine an Irish player injured him and he missed the world cup, Portugal would declare war.
This is probably the biggest mis-match in the history of football
Ronaldo won’t play and if he does he’ll be up against Coleman as Ronaldo very rarely plays on the right wing these days
All this lad is going to do is run around the pitch after Ronaldo like a headless chicken asking for his shirt after the game #notinhisleague
Totally agree,however not many defenders around the globe have had much luck against Ronaldo.
Stephen Ward is a fantastic product of the irish youth system #bestwecouldhopefor