FILE – In this Aug. 4, 2018, file photo, Henry Cejudo, left, kicks Demetrious Johnson during their UFC flyweight title mixed martial arts bout at UFC 227 in Los Angeles. ESPN will raise the curtain on the octagon Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, and air the first card of a $1.5 billion, five-year deal that will plaster UFC all over the sports network’s various platforms. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
NEW YORK — T.J. Dillashaw has dropped to the 125-pound weight class to fight flyweight champion Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC’s debut card on the ESPN networks.
Dillashaw, the 135-pound champion, is trying to join Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes as the only UFC fighters to hold titles in two different weight classes at the same time.
Dillashaw could also prompt UFC to abandon the flyweight division with a win. Cejudo defeated longtime champion Demetrious Johnson to win the belt and reign in a division that has drawn scant interest with fans or serious contenders in the class.
Cejudo-Dillashaw is the main event on ESPN-plus on the first card of a $1.5 billion, five-year contract that will plaster UFC all over the sports network’s various platforms.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone fights Alexander Hernandez in a lightweight bout in the main event of a prelim card that airs on ESPN.
Troubled ex-NFL star Greg Hardy makes his UFC debut in a heavyweight bout and a fight marred by controversy. Hardy left the NFL after he was convicted of assaulting and threatening to kill a woman, with charges later dropped as officials said they couldn’t locate the accuser and believed she reached a settlement with the athlete.
Scrutiny of Hardy’s ascent grew among fans when he was placed on the same card as flyweight Rachael Ostovich, who is fighting Paige VanZant. Honolulu police arrested Ostovich’s husband, Arnold Berdon, who is accused of punching his wife in the head, face and ribs, fracturing her eye socket. Berdon has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.