Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
The UFC was a hit in France this past Saturday. Ciryl Gane finished Tai Tuivasa in one of the best fights of the year. Robert Whittaker outclassed Marvin Vettori over three rounds and showed why he is a level above the rest in the middleweight division. And Abusupiyan Magomedov and Benoît Saint-Denis earned ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses for their respective TKOs of Gabriel Miranda and Dustin Stoltzfus. With the event now over, we can look at what we have ahead of us on the upcoming schedule.
The UFC either announced or finalized nine fights this week, with the recent additions filling out the remaining Fight Night and pay-per-view events of the year.
Bellator has boosted its schedule with two end-of-year events that feature a few championship headliners. The Light Heavyweight Grand Prix finale between Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson is set for Bellator 288, the upcoming event scheduled for Nov. 18 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Nemkov and Anderson fought to a No Contest after an accidental clash of heads rendered the reigning champion unable to continue at Bellator 277 this past April. Bellator president Scott Coker said there would be an immediate rematch, with the championship and $1 million prize on the line again.
The co-headliner for Bellator 288 is between Patricky Freire and Usman Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship. ‘Pitbull’ won the vacant belt with a second-round TKO of Peter Queally at Bellator 270 last November. He was expected to defend it against Sidney Outlaw but withdrew due to injury. Freire returns against Nurmagomedov, the undefeated contender on a four-fight win streak since joining the promotion more than a year ago.
Bellator 289 was also announced, and the semifinals for the Bantamweight Grand Prix take center stage. Interim champion Raufeon Stots meets Danny Sabatello in the main event, and Patrick ‘Patchy’ Mix shares the cage with Magomed Magomedov in the co-main event.
UFC 279 — September 10
Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj — catchweight (220 lbs.)
First rep. by Zeca Azevedo of Combate
UFC Fight Night — October 1
Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci — women’s strawweight
First rep. by Dana de Ferro MMA
UFC Fight Night — November 5
Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Lemos — women’s strawweight
Rodriguez vs. Lemos was already finalized, but shifted from UFC 280 to UFC on ESPN+ 72, per Drake Riggs of MMA Mania and Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin of MMA Fighting
UFC Fight Night — November 19
Jennifer Maia vs. Maryna Moroz — women’s flyweight
First rep. by Raphael Marinho of Combate
Fernie Garcia vs. Brady Hiestand — bantamweight
First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania
UFC Orlando — December 3
Jonathan Pearce vs. Darren Elkins — featherweight
First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
UFC 282 — December 10
Billy Quarantillo vs. Alexander Hernandez — featherweight
First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
UFC Fight Night — December 17
Amir Albazi vs. Alex Perez — flyweight
First rep. by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting
Bruno Silva vs. Albert Duraev — middleweight
First rep. by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator Dublin — September 23
Brett Johns vs. Jordan Winski — bantamweight
First rep. by BBC Sport Wales
Bellator 288 — November 18
Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson — light heavyweight
First rep. by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting
Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire vs. Usman Nurmagomedov — lightweight
First rep. by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting
Khasan Askhabov vs. Otto Rodrigues — featherweight
Bellator 289 — December 9
Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello — bantamweight
First rep. by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting
Patrick ‘Patchy’ Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov — bantamweight
First rep. by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting
Announced RIZIN FF fights:
RIZIN 38 — September 25
Hiromasa Ogikubo vs. Kim Soo-chul — bantamweight
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Yuto Hokamura — bantamweight
Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Chihiro Suzuki — featherweight
Juri Ohara vs. Luiz Gustavo — lightweight
Shoma Shibisai vs. Cally Gibrainn de Oliveira — heavyweight
SUPER RIZIN — September 25
Floyd Mayweather vs. Mikuru Asakura — boxing exhibition
Yoshinari Nadaka vs. Bandasak So Trakunpet — strawweight (kickboxing)
Announced Cage Warriors fights:
Cage Warriors 143 — September 23
Matt Hampton vs. Bill Wilson — lightweight
Cage Warriors 145 — November 4
James Webb vs. Samir Kadi — middleweight
James Sheehan vs. Jamie Richardson — welterweight
Harry Hardwick vs. Steve Aimable — featherweight
El Hadji Ndiaye vs. Adam Shelley — lightweight
Cage Warriors 146 — November 12
Christian Duncan vs. Marian Dimitrov — middleweight
Antonio Sheldon vs. Connor Hitchens — featherweight
Taka Mhandu vs. Sam Kelly — bantamweight
Aaron Johnson vs. Lukasz Kopera — lightweight
Announced KSW fights:
KSW 74 — September 10
Arkadiusz Mruk vs. Borys Dzikowski — middleweight
Eduard Demenko vs. Wojciech Kazieczko — featherweight