One of the first major events to occur at the soon-to-be-named Delta Center will pack a lot of punch and plenty of kick.
UFC 291 is coming to Salt Lake City on July 29, UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday. It’s the second consecutive year that UFC will come to the downtown venue.
The main event features lightweights Dustin Poirier (29-7) and Justin Gaethje (25-4) — ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively, in their weight class — in a rematch of their 2018 bout that ended in a Poirier victory. They’re vying for the BMF title.
Earlier this year, Poirier gave his thoughts on a potential rematch with Gaethje
“It’s a fight that makes me nervous,” Poirier told FanSided MMA in March. “When I hear a name and I get nervous, it’s motivation.”
The night’s other main attraction will feature light heavyweights Jan Blachowicz (29-9-2) and Alex Pereira (7-2), a former middleweight champ.
The remaining fights on the card include:
• Lightweights Tony Ferguson (26-8; Orange County, Calif.) vs. Bobby Green (29-14-1 1NC; Fontana, Calif.)
• Welterweights Michael Chiesa (18-6; Spokane Valley, Wash.) vs. Kevin Holland (24-9 1NC; Fort Worth, Texas)
• Middleweights Paulo Costa (14-2; Contagem, MG, Brazil) vs. Ikram Aliskerov (14-1; Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia)
• Welterweights Stephen Thompson (17-6-1; Simpsonville, S.C.) vs. Michel Pereira (28-11 2NC; Tucuma, Para, Brazil)
• Heavyweights Derrick Lewis (26-11 1NC; Houston, Texas) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1; Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Tickets go on sale to the public on June 2 through Ticketmaster. The event starts at 8 p.m.
Last year’s UFC pay-per-view in Salt Lake City was one for the books. Leon Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman — then the reigning champ and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world — with 56 seconds remaining in their title fight.