Reports: UFC 217 gets clash of ranked light heavyweights, ranked heavyweights

Alexey Oleynik returns at UFC 217

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.

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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?

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This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/15/2017.