Third title fight added to UFC 214

A surprising addition to the much anticipated UFC 214 card headlined by the grudge match between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones was announced just one month prior to the July 29 card being held in Anaheim.

Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley announced on UFC Tonight last Wednesday that he will be defending his title against Demian Maia on the card.

The championship fight is the third title fight on a stacked UFC 214 card.

UFC president Dana White told MMAJunkie that he expects the winner of the fight to face former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

However, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting said that he had spoken with St-Pierre, who said he still had his sights set on facing middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

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Cyborg gets new opponent

Another championship fight on the UFC 214 card for the women’s featherweight title had featured Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Invicta champion Megan Anderson. After weeks of the two fighters lobbying for the matchup, the fight is no longer happening as Anderson withdrew this week citing personal issues.

Anderson is being replaced by a fellow Invicta title holder, bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger who is stepping up to face Cyborg.

Evinger is 10-0-1 in her last 11 fights and has a lot of momentum heading into this fight.

The biggest deficit for Evinger will be size, as she has previously fought at flyweight and bantamweight, but never featherweight.

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Cerrone vs. Lawler postponed

The UFC’s upcoming UFC 213 pay-per-view took a massive hit this week as Donald Cerrone was forced to withdraw due to several injuries.

The fight has been added to the impressive UFC 214 card.

But the fight being rescheduled means that Lawler’s layoff since losing the welterweight title to Woodley will be exactly 364 days in length. At 35 years of age, Lawler needs to get some wins if he hopes to regain the title at this stage of his career.

Cerrone is also coming off of his first loss at welterweight, having lost to Jorge Masvidal in January after starting his welterweight run with a four-fight win streak.

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Snoop Dogg added as UFC play by play commentator

Rapper Snoop Dogg has always been a vocal fan of the UFC and now he will actually work for the organization

The UFC announced that Snoop Dogg will be providing alternative commentary for the new Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series alongside soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber on the aptly named “SnoopCast”.

The series debuts on July 11 exclusively on UFC Fight Pass and features upcoming talent hoping to get a shot in the organization.

The first card is headlined by featherweights Kurt Holobaugh and Matt Bessette.

The primary announce team is still yet to be named.

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International Fight Week on the horizon

The UFC’s annual International Fight Week returns this coming week with two fight cards taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 7 and 8.

On Friday, July 7, The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption concludes with the live finale headlined by organizational newcomer and former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who has an impressive 17-0 record, taking on fifth-ranked Michael Johnson.

The card will also feature the finals from the show with Dhiego Lima slated to take on the winner of this Wednesday night’s episode featuring James Krause versus Jesse Taylor. On the show, Krause is healing from an injury and it is uncertain if he will face Taylor on this week’s episode. The final episode airs on Wednesday at TSN2 at 10:00 pm ET and coverage of the live finale begins this Friday at 9 p.m. ET on TSN5.

Saturday’s card is UFC 213 and features two title fights. It is headlined by the UFC women’s bantamweight championship fight between champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Valentina Shevchenko. The two originally fought on March 5, 2016, where Nunes won by unanimous decision.

The key for Shevchenko will be to get Nunes into the later rounds, where she has shown to slow down historically. Nunes has never had a fight go beyond three rounds, while Shevchenko defeated former champion Holly Holm in a five-round main event last July.

The other title fight pits top-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero against third-ranked Robert Whitaker for the interim championship.

Canadians fighting this weekend include TSN contributor Elias Theodorou and former hockey player Steve Bosse, who both fight on the main card of The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption finale, while Jordan Mein and Chad Laprise fight on the UFC 213 card.