International Fight Week has returned.
One year after the annual event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it now has a new set of dates. The UFC announced on Saturday evening that International Fight Week will take place in Las Vegas from Sept. 21 through Sept. 25 and includes the 2020 UFC Hall of Fame Induction and a two-day UFC Fan Experience. The week is capped off by UFC 266, the pay-per-view event that features two championship title defenses and a special five-round fight between returning UFC veterans.
The 2020 Hall of Fame Induction is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23 and will see the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Kevin Randleman and Marc Ratner finally join the other inductees in the Modern-Era, Pioneer and Contributors wings respectively. Another expected induction is the first fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson that took place at UFC 165 in 2013. It was widely viewed as one of the best light heavyweight fights in the history of the promotion and its legacy will now be cemented in the Fight wing.
The two-day UFC Fan Experience is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25 and will allow fans to participate in interactive activities with past and present UFC stars. Names of the fighters expected to attend the Fan Experience have not been revealed yet, but will be in the coming weeks.
UFC 266 also had its five-fight main card confirmed. The headliner is a featherweight title defense between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 2 ranked contender Brian Ortega. The co-headliner has Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight title against No. 3 ranked contender Lauren Murphy. The third and final five-round fight of the evening sees the return of both Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz in a rematch 17 years in the making.
For more information on International Fight Week, read the press release from the UFC here.
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