UFC 217, which goes down on November 4 inside New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden, has grown by two big fights. The first of these fights will occur at heavyweight, where top-15 fighters Curtis Blaydes and Alexey Oleynik will collide. The second will go down at light heavyweight, where top-15 contenders Patrick Cummins and Corey Anderson will do battle.
This Blaydes-Oleynik fight was first reported by Shawn Bitter on Twitter, though it has not yet been made official by the UFC. UFC 217’s Cummins-Anderson fight was first reported by Farah Hannoun. It has also not been confirmed.
Curtis Blaydes Vs Oleksiy Olinnyk set for UFC 217 MSG November 4th. pic.twitter.com/ohQAIhtvKx
— Shawn Bitter (@mmawizzard) August 13, 2017
BREAKING: Corey Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) vs. Patrick Cummins (@OfficialDurkin) added to #UFC217 in NYC (November 4th) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/lCUuXi8p1L
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) August 13, 2017
Blaydes, who holds the number-15 spot in the UFC heavyweight rankings, will enter his bout with Oleynik having most recently picked up a decision win over Polish heavyweight staple Daniel Omielanczuk. He’s 7-1 in sum. Oleynik, who is ranked 11th at heavyweight, last fought at UFC 213, when he submitted Travis Browne in the second round. He’s a fantastic 52-10-1 overall.
Patrick Cummins currently keeps the number-12 spot in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. In his last fight, he defeated Gian Villante via controversial decision. This win was preceded by a win over Jan Blachowicz. He’s 10-4 in sum. Anderson, meanwhile, is ranked eighth at light heavyweight. In his last fight, he was knocked out by dangerous British contender Jimi Manuwa. He’s 9-3 overall.
UFC 217 will be headlined by a polarizing middleweight title fight between oft-criticized champion Michael Bisping and former UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre. The card is also expected to include a bantamweight title fight between Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw, though this fight is not yet official.
What do you think of these new additions to the UFC 217 bill?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/15/2017.