We're already nearly at the halfway point for the 30th year in UFC history, and this means the events to close out the year will be announced in the following months. Though much is still to be determined, let's look at UFC 295 and some information we have.
Firstly, the event is targeted for Maddison Square Garden (MSG) in New York, New York, announced by the president of the UFC himself, Dana White. While no date has been confirmed, we can make a pretty accurate guess. The exact 30th anniversary of the UFC is November 12th, 1993, so it would be fair to assume the UFC will look to book the event on a Saturday closest to this. This means UFC 295 will likely fall on November 11th.
Since 2016 (except for 2020 due to COVID-19 regulations), the UFC has always committed to an annual visit to MSG. As a result, they've hosted some of the biggest PPVs in UFC history there, such as UFC 205, where Conor Mcgregor became the first ever champ-champ in UFC history, UFC 217, where Georges St-Pierre returned after a four-year layoff to claim the Middleweight title from Michael Bisping, and UFC 244, where Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz fought for the BMF title. Other famous fighters to throw down in the garden include Israel Adesanya, Dustin Poirier, Kamaru Usman, Daniel Cormier, Michael Chandler, Colby Covington, and many more huge names. With this backlog of fighters, we can expect UFC 295 to be stacked with a massive night of fights.
There are no confirmed fights for UFC 295 but check this space regularly for all fight announcements surrounding this event.
The main event for UFC 295 is targeted to be the showdown between the Light-Heavyweight GOAT and reigning Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones and the Heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic. This bout was initially scheduled for international fight week at UFC 290 on July 8th but has since been called off for unknown reasons. The UFC will now look to make this bout the headliner for the card.
UFC Lightweight and English superstar Paddy Pimblett also expressed his desire to fight on this card. He engaged in a verbal altercation with the #14 ranked Lightweight Matt Frevola, and both parties have expressed their interest in this bout. Pimblett has not fought since UFC 282, where he defeated Jared Gordan via a controversial decision. Frevola, on the other hand, is riding a significant three-fight win streak, with victories over Genaro Valdéz, Ottman Azaitar, and Drew Dober.
Jon Jones was a moderate favorite against Stipe Miocic at -200, with the former Champion Miocic opening at +170. However, since then, the fan's trust in Jones has skyrocketed, bringing him to a very comfortable -340 favorite, while the considerable underdog Miocic stands at +230. Seeing how dominant Jones was in his last bout at UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane and the fact that Miocic has not fought since UFC 260, where he was KOed by Francis Ngannou, the odds can be justified for having Jones as a big favorite.
We'll keep this space regularly updated with announcements, odds, and rumors that surface, so keep checking back. As a member of the Verdict Community, let us know who you'd like to see booked for UFC 295 in the comments below.