UFC 247: Fans invited to athlete panel, gym day, press conference, weigh-ins in Houston

If you’re heading to Houston to catch a pair of title fights this week, or are from the area, there are several events you can attend for free.

UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

In the main event, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) returns after seven months off for his latest title defense. He meets the unbeaten Dominick Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the headliner.

In the co-feature, women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is a massive favorite of as much as 14-1 against challenger Katlyn Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in their title fight.

Prior to the event, fans can attend a pre-fight athlete panel featuring the title fighters, plus Houston’s own Derrick Lewis (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and his heavyweight opponent, Ilir Latifi (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC).

The athlete panel, hosted by UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik, takes place at The Ballroom at Bayou Place at 500 Texas Ave. in Houston. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open to the public at 5 p.m. CT local time, and the panel is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Anik will talk to Reyes, Chookagian and Latifi first, then Jones, Shevchenko and Lewis in the second session.

Thursday, fans can attend a gym day at Renzo Gracie’s facility at 14555 West Lake Houston in Houston. Doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m. CT and will feature Alex Hernandez, Uriah Hall, Geoff Neal and “BMF” titleholder Jorge Masvidal.

Friday, ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans take place at Toyota Center with a news conference for UFC 248 beforehand. Doors open for the public at 3:30 p.m. CT. The UFC 248 press conference starts at 4 p.m. The ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs between the fighters go down at 5 p.m.

The UFC 247 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes – for light heavyweight title
• Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian – for women’s flyweight title
• Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
• Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
• Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

• Antonio Arroyo vs. Trevin Giles
• Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
• Alex Morono vs. Kalinn Williams
• Mario Bautista vs. Miles Johns

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

• Journey Newson vs. Domingo Pilarte
• Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez
• Austin Lingo vs. Youssef Zalal