UFC Macau Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

TLDR: “Prelims” at 3 a.m. ET on ESPN+, Main Card @ 6 a.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) touches down in Macau, China, for the fourth time to stage “Yan vs. Figueiredo” TODAY (Sat., Nov. 23, 2024) inside Galaxy Arena. Headlining the event — which will steam on ESPN+ — will be a Bantamweight banger between former division champion, Petr Yan, and ex Flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo. In the co-headlining act, Xiaonan Yan will face Tabatha Ricci in a pivotal women’s Strawweight bout.

What’s Hot:

The hunt is on for a 135-pound title shot against reigning division champion, Merab Dvalishvili, and “No Mercy” and “Deus da Guerra” are ready to throw their names into the mix. As it stands. Umar Nurmagomedov is the front-runner to get the title shot, assuming the promotion doesn’t give one of its poster boys (a.k.a. Sean O’Malley) a crack at reclaiming the strap. But, before Yan or Figueiredo — who are ranked No. 3 and No. 5, respectively — eye the big prize, they need a big win in Macau. Yan has championship experience at 135 pounds, but after dropping his belt to Aljamain Sterling via split decision back at UFC 273, things took a downward turn, losing two straight at the hands of the aforementioned O’Malley and Dvalishvili. He managed to break his three-fight skid, defeating Song Yadong at UFC 299, and now eyes his first back-to-back win streak since 2019-2020. He will have a tough task ahead of him against Figueiredo, because he, too, has championship experience as the former ruler of the 125-pound weight class.

Since losing the 125-pound strap to Brandon Moreno — finally ending their long-standing rivalry that included four championship fights in a row (watch highlights) — “Daico” decided to move up to 125 pounds. That smart move proved fruitful, winning three straight, while not having too cut so much weight. And being the bigger man come fight night has paid dividends more often than not thus far. During his win streak, Figueiredo has taken out Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font and Marlon Vera, a very impressive list to say the least. Now, he is perhaps just one more win away from getting a chance to become a rare dual-division champion. This fight is a very tough one to call because both men are very well-rounded. But, if we are going to predict how this fight plays out, it will be on the feet … at least that is what we are hoping for. Both men are excellent strikers, with Yan owning seven knockouts to Figueiredo’s nine. If the fight goes to the ground, however, “Daico” has the clear advantage there. Still, we can predict how we think the fight will play out, but once the cage door slams shut all bets are off. This one should be exciting.

What’s Not:

The special early morning start time is far from ideal for most combat sports fans not located in (or near) China. For the fight fans in the states, you will have to get up at 3 a.m ET to catch the “Prelims” undercard (6 a.m. ET for the main card). That just isn’t convenient for most, except for those die-hard fanatics who will do whatever it takes to get their fight fix.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

There were no major changes to this event since its announcement.

Injuries:

No injuries reported for this event.

New Blood and ‘Prelims’:

Former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Light Heavyweight standout, Ozzy Diaz, will make his proper Octagon debut against Zhang Mingyang. Diaz has been around in several organizations, including a quick stop at Bellator MMA where he went 2-0. He lost to Joe Pyfer via knockout on Contender Series, but he eventually made his way to the big show. As for Mingyang, he is red-hot with a 10-fight win streak, which includes a first round knockout of Brendson Ribeiro in his Octagon debut at UFC 298 earlier this year (see it again here).

Lone’er Kavanagh and Jose Ochoa will make their Octagon debuts against each other in a Flyweight bout. Kavanagh is undefeated (7-0) with five finishes, including a first round knockout win over An Tuan Ho on Contender Series. Ochoa, on the other hand, is also undefeated (7-0) and will be coming with six stoppage victories under his belt. What does that tell you? This fight could end early.

Feng Xiaocan and Shi Ming will make their official promotional debuts against each other when they throw down in a Strawweight fight, which will also serve as the Road to UFC (season 3) finals. In men’s action, Kiru Singh Sahota vs. Dong Hoon Choi throw down in the Flyweight finale of the same tournament. Sahota is coming in on a three-fight win streak, while Choi is undefeated (8-0) to date.

In the Bantamweight finale of Road to UFC, Su Young You will take on Balgyn Jenisuly. You has an impressive 13-3 record, while Jenisuly is a bit more experienced with 23 fights and an 18-5 record as a professional.

Long Xiao will face Quang Le in a Bantamweight fight in a bout where both men are coming off defeats. Xiao was riding high with a four fight win streak — two inside the Octagon — before he ran into Chang Ho Lee this past summer. Le, on the other hand, suffered the first loss of his career after winning eight in a row, losing a decision to Chris Gutierrez.

Kicking off the undercard card is a Lightweight fight between Maheshate Hayisaer and Nikolas Motta. Hayisaer recently snapped his two-fight losing streak by defeating Gabriel Benitez this past April, while Motta secured his first UFC win in over two years by knocking out Tom Nolan in 62 seconds in January (see it again here).

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Carlos Hernandez came in hot from the Contender Series, but he hasn’t been too successful now that he is in the big show, amassing a record of 1-3, and has lost his last two fights. He is trying to avoid his third straight loss — and possibly getting a pink slip — when he goes up against Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, who is undefeated at 8-0. More weird matchmaking.

Interest Level: 5/10

In the co-main event, Yan will attempt to get back into the win column after she came up short in her brutal bid to win the women’s Strawweight belt against Zhang Weili at UFC 300 earlier this year. She is still ranked No. 2, so she isn’t too far off to make her case for another shot at the strap, and a win over Ricci could inch her closer. But, Ricci is as tough as they come, and she is also eying her first trip to a championship fight. Currently ranked No. 10, “Baby Shark” is 6-1 in her last seven fights and comes in on back-to-back victories over Tecia Pennington and Angela Hill.

Carlos Ulberg recently stated that he is fully-prepared to accept a title shot if presented to him, much like Khalil Rountree Jr. received a surprise crack at the belt against Alex Pereira. While it isn’t very likely, Ulberg — who is ranked No. 10 — can inch closer to the Top 5 with a win over former title contender, Volkan Oezdemir. Ulberg is currently on a six-fight win streak, while “No Time” has won his last two fights over Bogdan Guskov and Johnny Walker via first round stoppage. Ranked No. 8, Oezdemir is also trying to get back into the championship mix before that window closes for good.

Cong Wang went full-on “Joker” during her pre-fight staredown opposite Gabriella Fernandes (see it here), but it will be no laughing matter when these two Flyweight contenders throw down in main card action. In just her first six professional fights, Wang has gone undefeated with four stoppage wins (three in the first round). She knocked out Victoria Leonardo in little more than one minute in her UFC debut earlier this year, and now wants to build on that momentum against Fernandez, who secured her first UFC win and avoided a quick release by defeating Carli Judice via split decision. Prior to that, she had dropped her first two UFC fights.

Both Muslim Salikhov and Kenan Song have been rather inconsistent as of late, with each man racking up a 2-3 record in their last five fights. That said, booking them against each other was a good move. Neither man is ranked in the Welterweight division, so this could be a springboard for the victor to start making a meaningful move upward. Despite their records, this could be a very good scrap once the dust settles.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Macau Fight Card:

UFC Macau Main Event On ESPN+:

135 lbs.: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

UFC Macau Main Card on ESPN+ (6 a.m. ET):

115 lbs.: Xiaonan Yan vs. Tabatha Ricci
170 lbs.: Song Kenan vs. Muslim Salikhov
125 lbs.: Wang Cong vs. Gabriella Fernandes
205 lbs.: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg
205 lbs.: Zhang Mingyang vs. Ozzy Diaz

UFC Macau ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (3 a.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Zhu Kangjie vs. Xie Bin
135 lbs.: Su Young You vs. Balgyn Jenisuly
125 lbs.: Kiru Singh Sahota vs. Dong Hoon Choi
115 lbs.: Feng Xiaocan vs. Shi Ming
125 lbs.: Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. Carlos Hernandez
125 lbs.: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa
105 lbs.: Long Xiao vs. Quang Le
155 lbs.: Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Nikolas Motta

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Macau fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. ET, before the main card start time at 6 a.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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