Las Vegas – Nearly one year after Chicago hosted one of the most exciting cards of the year, UFC® returns to the Windy City with another thrilling event featuring two premier title fights, streaming exclusively on ESPN+. Men’s flyweight champion and No. 5-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world Henry Cejudo moves up in weight to attempt to become only the fourth athlete in history to hold two UFC titles simultaneously when he faces No. 1-ranked bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes for the vacant 135-pound championship. Also, women’s flyweight champion and No. 15-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world Valentina Shevchenko looks to defend her title for the first time against No. 1-ranked contender Jessica Eye.
UFC® 238: CEJUDO vs. MORAES takes place Saturday, June 8 at United Center and will be live nationally on Pay-Per-View exclusively through ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT in both English and Spanish.
ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events to fans in the United States as part of an agreement announced last month and continuing through 2025.
Fans will be able to purchase UFC® 238: CEJUDO vs. MORAES online at ESPNPlus.com/PPV and then will be able to watch it via the web or on the ESPN App on any connected device. ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN app on all major mobile and connected TV devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, X Box One and more.
Preliminary fights will air nationally in English and Spanish on ESPN and ESPN Deportes television networks starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the early prelims simulcast on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT.
Cejudo (14-2, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) looks to join an exclusive club home to Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes as the only athletes to hold two UFC championships simultaneously. A former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, Cejudo successfully made the jump to MMA six years ago and has already defeated some of the biggest names in the sport, including former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw. Now, Cejudo looks to prove that he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world by moving up in weight and becoming the only person to finish Moraes in the UFC.
Competing in the first UFC title fight of his career, Moraes (22-5-1, fighting out of Tom’s River, N.J. by way of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) aims to prove that he is the true king of the bantamweight division. Known for his spectacular finishing ability, Moraes earned his title shot with three impressive first-round stoppages in a row over fellow top-contenders Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera and Raphael Assuncao. Moraes now hopes to net his fourth consecutive post-fight bonus and join the pound-for-pound ranks by taking out Cejudo with another impressive performance.
Shevchenko (16-3, fighting out of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) won the vacant UFC flyweight championship in December with a dominant victory over long-time rival and former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Throughout her career, Shevchenko has established herself as one of the most dangerous competitors in all of women’s MMA, having defeated former bantamweight champion Holly Holm and top contender Julianna Pena. She now looks to continue her undefeated flyweight reign by being the first person to stop Jessica Eye in her UFC career.
Gunning to capitalize on the momentum of her current winning streak, Eye (14-6, fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio) competes for the first UFC championship of her career. Undefeated since moving to flyweight last year, Eye has impressed with victories over Kalindra Faria, Jessica-Rose Clark and top-ranked contender Katlyn Chookagian. Now, Eye intends to shock the world by becoming the first flyweight to defeat Shevchenko and stake her claim as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world.
Additional bouts on the card include:
In a battle of top-ranked women’s strawweight contenders, No. 3-ranked Tatiana Suarez (7-0, fighting out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) aims to stay undefeated by taking out No. 3-ranked Nina Ansaroff (10-5, fighting out of Weston, Fla.)
No. 12-ranked Felice Herrig (14-8, fighting out of Crystal Lake, Ill.) looks to defend her spot in the rankings by being the first person to defeat Yan Xiaonan (9-1, fighting out of Beijing, China) in the UFC.
Heavyweight brawlers battle to break into the top 10 as No. 11-ranked Tai Tuivasa (10-1, fighting out of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) meets No. 14-ranked Blagoy Ivanov (17-2, fighting out of Sofia, Bulgaria)
No. 3-ranked Katlyn Chookagian (11-2, fighting out of Kenilworth, N.J.) hopes to reinsert herself into the women’s flyweight title picture by taking out fan-favorite No. 6-ranked Joanne Calderwood (13-3, fighting out of Glasgow, Scotland)
Chicago’s own No. 11-ranked featherweight Ricardo Lamas (19-7, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) intends to defend his home soil with an impressive performance against No. 15-ranked Calvin Kattar (19-3, fighting out of Methuen, Mass.)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.
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Tickets for UFC® 238: CEJUDO vs. MORAES go on sale Friday, April 5 at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets are available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, April 3 at 10 a.m. CT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, April 4 starting at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
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About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. UFC boasts 278 million fans worldwide and has produced over 460 events in 24 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world. UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories to 1.0 billion TV households worldwide in over 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
About United Center
The United Center is a state-of-the-art campus, including a 960,000 square-foot multi-use entertainment facility and over four additional buildings, that has welcomed more than 55 million fans since opening in 1994. Home of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, the United Center hosts more than 200 events each year, including the best sporting events, musical performers, family shows and special events in the industry. An iconic legacy and commitment to superior service makes the United Center one of the premiere venues in the world.
For more information, please visit www.unitedcenter.com
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ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise, features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
