UFC 239 will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7th (AEST) and it is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon Jones and Thiago Santos.
Santos has earnt a title fight following four straight victories, including three in the Light Heavyweight Division, but he will still go into this fight with Jones as a clear outsider.
The co-Main Event is another UFC Championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm, while the unbeaten Ben Askren will take on Jorge Masvidal in his second UFC fight.
We have analysed every fight on the Main Card and our complete UFC 239 tips can be found below.
UFC 239 Main Card
Sunday July 7th 1pm AEST
Main Event
It has been a matter of who’s next for Jon Jones.
His return to the Octagon and his promise of regular fights has not disappointing. Seemingly his biggest threat, Alexander Gustafsson, was dispatched inside three rounds.
He was scary good when he entered the UFC as a young man, and he is arguably even scarier as a much more composed and experienced fighter and man.
He was lucky not to have been disqualified for the second time in his career when he landed an illegal knee in his last fight against Anthony Smith.
It would have been a hollow victory for Smith as Jones absolutely dominated the fight. He landed 238 strikes on Smith at an incredible 82% with 125 of them significant.
Brazilian Thiago Santos is the next in line. He gets his chance at the title with three consecutive wins via KO inside the UFC. All three wins have come with a move up to Light Heavyweight where, just like Anthony Smith, he seems to be much better suited.
His Muay Thai is his biggest strength and he has the potential to stop anyone with one of his high kicks or brutal punching power.
In my opinion the market has this one right and I only give Thiago Santos a punchers chance in this contest.
Santos has a take down defence of 67% and I have a feeling Jones may take this to the canvas. Even if it is to prove he can still roll around a win by submission. Or just for fun.
Back Jon Jones To Win By Submission @ $3.30
Co-Main Event
Amanda Nunes is the greatest women’s UFC fighter of all time.
She became the first two division champion by knocking out Cris Cyborg to claim the Featherweight title at UFC 232.
Unlike many in other divisions, you simply can’t knock the quality of her opponents. In her last six fights she has beaten Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (twice), former featherwight champion Cris Cyborg, former Bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and Hall Of Famer Ronda Rousey.
Holly Holm is not one to shy away from a challenge. She is a much better fighter than her recent record suggest (she has lost four of her last six fights) and her legacy in the sport can not be understated.
It was the beginning of the end for Ronda Rousey at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne when she handed Rousey her first loss via a vicious head kick. She was the biggest underdog to win in a UFC title fight at the time and she thrives on the big stage.
Holm is one of the biggest drawing cards in the sport and despite losing to Cyborg at the end of 2017, she was the first woman to go the distance against the then undefeated fighter.
Amanda Nunes is a beast and has been a dominant champion. Holm can give the champ plenty of problems with her hands and experienced kick boxing ability and the champ-champ will not have it all her own way.
The only time Holm has been finished inside the Octagon was by Meisha Tate via a submission in the last round. She stops 78% of takedown attempts and I think this fight will go the distance.
Back Amanda Nunes To Win By Decision @ $3.75
Main Card
Love him or hate him, Ben Askren has added plenty of entertainment to the UFC since he finally joined the promotion. He was traded by the ONE Organisation for Demetrious Johnson and I’d say the UFC are in front in that trade so far.
Controversy follows him everywhere and this does not exclude the Octagon after he kept his perfect record intact with a submission victory over Robbie Lawler at UFC 235.
The MMA community was divided as to whether it was an early stoppage by referee Herb Dean however the fact remains that Askren remains undefeated in his pro career.
Jorge Masvidal made a long awaited return when he took on Darren Till at UFC Fight Night in London back in March.
He won the fight via a vicious KO in the second round which put a question mark on the future of Darren Till and his plans in the division.
Masvidal, just like ruthless Robbie Lawler, do their best work when standing. Something that Askren struggled with in his first UFC fight.
I have never seen someone look worse after winning a fight in the first round. Before Akren could show off his grappling and wrestling prowess, he was lit up by Lawler.
I’m do not think that Ben Askren will make it to the top in the UFC and the better strikers with take down defence will account for the man they call ‘Funky’. In saying that, I don’t think Jorge Masvidal will be the man to stop Akren’s rise.
Askren however, is ridiculously short odds to win only his second fight in the UFC.
I recommend staying out of this from a betting perspective but if you must, Jorge Masvidal by KO is the better option at the price.
NO BET
Luke Rockhold returns to the Octagon having only fought twice in the past three years.
The former Middleweight Champion has battled a lot of setbacks including injuries to himself and his opponents but we are all aware of his prowess when he is fit.
Jan Blachowicz was riding a four fight win streak before he ran into Thiago Santos last time out. A fight he lost via KO in the third round.
He is just as comfortable standing and throwing down as he is on the canvas and he is a very well rounded fighter.
This is a very interesting fight and a hard one to predict.
The best version of Luke Rockhold wins this fight 9 times out of 10 however there are plenty of question marks over his fight fitness after such a long lay off.
This is a huge fight in the context of Rockhold’s future plans in the division and while I think he will win the fight I am not willing to take the short odds straight out.
Blachowicz is a smart fighter and six of his last nine fights have gone the distance. I also can see Rockhold fighting very cautiously as a loss would be very detrimental to him.
Back The Fight To Go The Distance
Diego Sanchez is a stalwart of the UFC having fought on The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale against Kenny Florian way back in April 2005.
He shocked everyone with a very impressive win over Mickey Gall back in March and we can not sleep on him again in this fight.
After back to back defeats against Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis, Michael Chiesa defeated Carlos Condit with a slick one-armed Kimura in the second round.
Chiesa has failed when taking on the best that this division has however he really should be able to account for the aging Sanchez.
His last three wins have come via submission and I’d be looking that one to get some value out of this fight.
Back Michael Chiesa To Win Via Submission