UFC 227, which goes down on August 4 in Los Angeles, California, now has an official fight poster. See this poster poster, which is pretty standard except for the fact that it looks like it was ripped in half, below:
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1009980016174686208
As this poster implies, UFC 227 will be headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between reigning champion TJ Dillashaw and former champion Cody Garbrandt. The pair first fought in November of 2017, in the co-main event of UFC 217. On that night, Dillashaw weathered an early scare to win by second-round knockout. Neither man has fought since this first encounter, which has led some fans to question the need for this immediate rematch.
The UFC 227 co-main event is also a rematch. In one corner, we’ll have dominating flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. In the other, we’ll have former Olympian Henry Cejudo, who Johnson defeated by first-round TKO in April of 2016. Since the pair’s first fight, Johnson has rattled off defeats of Tim Elliott, Wilson Reis, and most recently, Ray Borg, who he put away with one of the best submissions in UFC history. Cejudo, on the other hand, has rebounded with defeats of Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis.
Interestingly, TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson — the two champions set to defend their titles at UFC 227 — were briefly expected to fight each other. The intention was for Dillashaw to drop down to flyweight to challenge Johnson for his title. Unfortunately, however, the negotiations for this fight stalled and the UFC went in different directions for both champions.
What do you think of the official fight poster for UFC 227?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/22/2018.