''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on February 8, 2020 at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States.

Background

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between the current two-time champion

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

and Dominick Reyes served as the headliner. A

UFC Women's Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC Championship#Title match system, championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, a ...

bout between the current champion

Valentina Shevchenko Valentina Anatolievna Shevchenko (russian: Валентина Анатольевна Шевченко; born ) is a Kyrgyz and Peruvian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai, Muay Thai fighter. She currentl ...

and

Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Chookagian (born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Val ...

served as the co-headliner. While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was initially targeting a light heavyweight bout between former interim title challenger

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

and

Ryan Spann Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fight ...

to take place at the event. However, promotion matchmakers elected to go in another direction and the pairing was scrapped from the event. A bantamweight bout between Sean O'Malley and

José Alberto Quiñónez José Alberto Quiñónez Navarro (born July 28, 1990) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. He was one of the cast members in The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 1, The Ultimate Fighter UFC TV reality show ...

was originally scheduled to take place at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas–Paradise, ...

. However, it was scrapped after O'Malley failed a

United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

(USADA) drug test. The bout was then expected to take place at this event but it was eventually moved to

UFC 248 ''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

for unknown reasons.

Dhiego Lima Dhiego Lima (born January 31, 1989) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Lima was born and spent his early childhood in the Brazilian city of Goiânia and b ...

was scheduled to face

Alex Morono Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Morono has also fought for Legacy ...

at the event. However, Lima was forced off the card on January 22 with a neck injury. He was replaced by promotional newcomer

Khaos Williams Kalinn "Khaos" Williams (born March 30, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Williams got his first taste of knockouts in 2008 when he floored anoth ...

Jimmie Rivera Jimmie Ernesto Rivera (born June 29, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Prior to signing with BKFC, Rivera competed in the UFC's Bantamweig ...

was scheduled to face

Marlon Vera Marlon Andres Vera Delgado (born December 2, 1992) is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vera first appeared on '' The Ultimate Fight ...

at the event. However, Rivera pulled out of the fight on January 23 citing an injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Vera from the card entirely. Antonio Arroyo was expected to face

Trevin Giles Trevin Dewayne Giles (born August 6, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Giles currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giles was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was a f ...

in a middleweight bout at the event. However, Arroyo pulled out a day before the fight due to medical issues. He was replaced by James Krause, who was already in Houston to corner

Youssef Zalal Youssef Zalal (born September 4, 1996) is a Moroccan mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Zalal grew up fighting other kids on the streets of Morocco. His mother put him ...

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Trevin Giles vs. James Krause *Performance of the Night: Khaos Williams and Mario Bautista

Aftermath

On March 25, it was announced by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) that Journey Newson tested positive for

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

in in-competition drug tests. His victory was also overturned to a no contest and he could face a fine and suspension, likely no longer than 90 days, per Texas regulations.

References

{{2020 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2020 in mixed martial arts 2020 in sports in Texas Mixed martial arts in Houston Sports competitions in Houston February 2020 sports events in the United States

Background

Results

Bonus awards

Aftermath

See also

References