MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards. With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. In recent days, a […]
MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards.
With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.
In recent days, a couple of notable fights were made official by the UFC or confirmed by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:
And for more detailed information on one newly booked fight that may have flown under your radar between July 1 and July 7, scroll down and check out this week’s UFC Matchmaking Bulletin spotlighted fight.
Shamil Gaziev vs. Don’Tale Mayes – UFC Abu Dhabi (August 3)
After failing to capitalize on the main event spotlight earlier this year, Shamil Gaziev will look to get back on track at the UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on August 3.
Gaziev (12-1) received a shot at the heavyweight rankings and a maiden headliner in just his second UFC fight, being matched against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event of UFC Vegas 87 this past March. The then-undefeated Bahraini was unable to continue into the fifth round, granting “Bigi Boy” the victory by way of TKO.
To avoid the first losing skid of his career, Gaziev must get the better of Don’Tale Mayes (11-6) in the Middle East next month. “Lord Kong” has exchanged wins and losses since a win over Josh Parisian in 2021, falling short against Augusto Sakai and Rodrigo Nascimento but defeating Andrei Arlovski and Caio Machado.
This heavyweight fight was first reported by Vestnik MMA.
Returning himself to the winner’s enclosure, Suriname kickboxing talent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik handed Dagestan-born contender, Shamil Gaziev his first professional…
Returning himself to the winner’s enclosure, Suriname kickboxing talent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik handed Dagestan-born contender, Shamil Gaziev his first professional loss in their UFC Vegas 87 main event clash tonight — forcing a fourth round corner’s stoppage TKO win — with the Bahrain newcomer appearing to signal his intentions of missing a fifth and final round start.
Rozenstruik, the current number twelve ranked heavyweight contender, made his return to the Apex facility tonight where he has previously headlined for the promotion — turning in his first victory since a blsitering 23-second KO win over Chris Daukaus.
As for Gaziev, the former Brave CF contender made his Octagon debut late last year with a knockout win over Martin Buday, following a successful outing on Dana White’s Contender Series.
And fast-tracked to a main event fight in just his sophomore outing under the organization’s banner, Gaziev struggled early with the timing and fast hands of experienced striker, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, who also managed to defend numerous laborious takedown attempts from the Russian-born contender.
Turning up the heat in the fourth frame, Jairzinho Rozenstruik almost forced the issue against a clearly frustrated Gaziev — forcing the latter against the fence before the buzzer with a fierce and frenzied striking combination.
And ahead of the slated start of a fifth and final round, Gaziev argued with his corner in his native language, appearing less than interested in competing further tonight.
With referee, Marc Goddard ordering translations from his chief cornerman, Gaziev allegedly claimed he was struggling with his vision, with the official waving off the fight after instructing the Octagon-side physician to check on the unbeaten former — resulting in a TKO win for striking veteran, Rozenstruik.
Below, catch the highlights from Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s win at UFC Vegas 87
This fight has been stopped at the end of the 4th round
The UFC has grown exponentially in the years since its inception way back in 1993. While the sport of MMA has come a long way since the days of groin strikes, headbutts and Tank Abbott, the demands placed on the global leader to satisfy an ever-growing audience in this social media-driven world has led to […]
The UFC has grown exponentially in the years since its inception way back in 1993. While the sport of MMA has come a long way since the days of groin strikes, headbutts and Tank Abbott, the demands placed on the global leader to satisfy an ever-growing audience in this social media-driven world has led to a swollen roster of contracted fighters.
The need to provide content to fulfil contractual obligations with TV networks has meant an increase in the overall number of events the UFC are pumping out these days. There are 53 shows scheduled to take place in 2024 alone, between pay-per-view events and ‘Fight Night’ cards, spread out over international locations such as Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Abu Dhabi, Australia and of course, the United States.
With many of these events taking place in the relatively low-key surroundings of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, some of these cards have become less about putting fans in seats and more about ticking off fights on some fighters’ contracts. The biggest names are being kept for the pay-per-views and the rest are being wheeled out with the sole purpose of filling in the gaps.
This Saturday’s Fight Night event (set to be headlined by a strawweight rematch between Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba) is another card loaded with fights lacking in jeopardy and unlikely to have any telling effect on the title picture in any of the UFC weight divisions.
With that in mind, let’s look at five of the more underwhelming main events the UFC have offered up so far in 2024.
Roman Dolidze vs Nassourdine Imavov, UFC Fight Night, February 3rd (UFC Apex)
The UFC’ had a somewhat slow start to 2024. January brought us an underwhelming Fight Night card followed by a PPV event in Canada that lacked star names outside of the main event between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. Coming into February, UFC fans were desperately in need of some high-stakes entertainment.
The Apex middleweight showdown between Dolidze and Imavov was not it. A main card entirely devoid of ranked fighters (outside of the main event) offered up one draw and four decisions, with only Randy Brown’s first-round knockout of Muslim Salikhov managing to give viewers something to get them out of their seats.
Both main event fighters came into this event in stuttering form. Dolidze hadn’t been seen in competitive action since losing to Marvin Vettori eleven months earlier, while Imavov was coming off the back of a difficult 2023. A decision loss to Sean Strickland early in the year was followed by his summer bout with Chris Curtis being declared a “no contest” after an accidental clash of heads.
A majority decision victory for Nassourdine Imavov after twenty-five less-than-inspiring minutes followed. Both fighters picked up victories last month and seem to be rising through the ranks at 185lbs, but their clash at the Apex last February is not one that will live long in the memory of many UFC fans.
Joe Pyfer vs Jack Hermansson, UFC Fight Night, February 10th (UFC Apex)
A week later, with UFC 298 on the horizon and the MMA news cycle being dominated by the build-up to Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria, fans were treated to another Apex event with a middleweight headliner. This time, admittedly, there was a little more intrigue surrounding the headline match-up as Joe Pyfer was coming off the back of an unbeaten start to his UFC career. “Bodybagz” had won all three of his fights inside the Octagon to that point, and finishes over Alen Amedovski, Gerald Meerschaert and Abdul Razak Alhassan had earmarked the 26-year-old as a fighter worth keeping an eye on.
Jack Hermansson looked like he was being positioned as the man to give up his place in the rankings to Pyfer. The Swede was returning from a year-long absence due to injury and had lost three of his previous five bouts at 185lbs. Against the odds, however, Hermansson derailed the Pyfer hype train and, after a strong opening two rounds from Pyfer, “The Joker” picked off his opponent from range over the remainder of the fight and walked away with a 48-47 scorecard from each of the three judges.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Shamil Gaziev, UFC Fight Night, March 2nd (UFC Apex)
UFC 298 and the Fight Night that was held in Mexico City a week later gave fans a reminder of how good the atmosphere can be when big crowds and exciting fights are paired together. Ilia Topuria’s title victory in Anaheim, California followed by Brandon Royval’s win over Brandon Moreno the following week meant February had its’ fair share of entertainment inside the Octagon.
Fans were brought back down to earth with a bang on March 2nd however, as perennial heavyweight gatekeeper Jairzinho Rozenstruik was paired with Shamil Gaziev. Although Gaziev came into this event unbeaten at 12-0, the Bahraini fighter had only made one appearance inside the Octagon so far and many fans seemed perplexed at his positioning in the headline slot of a UFC event so soon.
Image: Jairzinho Rozenstruik IG
The gulf in class was evident as Gaziev was utterly dominated by “Bigi Boy” from the off. After four one-sided rounds, a bruised and battered Gaziev was deemed unfit to continue following an inspection by referee Marc Goddard. Not only did Gaziev pick up the first loss of his professional career, his positioning in the main event slot so soon after signing with the UFC drew plenty of criticism from fans and fighters alike.
Marcin Tybura vs Tai Tuivasa, UFC Fight Night, March 16th (UFC Apex)
Just two weeks later, in the wake of UFC 299, the “new normal” resumed in the UFC Apex as heavyweights Marcin Tybura and Tai Tuivasa collided in the main event of an event that featured such names as Ange Loosa, Isaac Dulgarian and Brian Battle on the main card.
Tybura’s first-round submission victory would be his eighth win in ten fights helping the Polish fighter break into the top ten of the UFC’s heavyweight rankings. His opponent however was riding a three-fight losing streak coming into this bout and with the Australian taking significant damage in his defeats to Cyril Gane, Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich, the discussion among the MMA community in the wake of this defeat centred around whether or not “Bam Bam” should retire.
As it would turn out, Tybura made quick work of Tuivasa and the fight didn’t even see two minutes of action. Another underwhelming main event into the books, then.
Derrick Lewis vs Rodrigo Nascimento, UFC on ESPN+ 32, May 11th (St. Louis)
April brought fight fans one of the most memorable fight cards in the history of the sport. UFC 300 was packed from top to bottom with current or former champions, and the knockouts delivered by Alex Pereira and Max Holloway during the main card will go down in history as two of the most exciting finishes inside the Octagon.
Lewis knocked out Nascimento in the main event but the fight failed to cause a ripple in the heavyweight rankings. “The Black Beast” had lost four of his previous six fights and is unlikely to enter the heavyweight title discussion anytime soon, while Nascimento had won three consecutive split-decision victories over unranked opponents prior to facing Lewis.
It seems in the modern world of the UFC, for every title fight or number-one contender match-up fans are granted, they are doomed to sit through multiple filler events behind closed doors at the UFC Apex.
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Returning himself to the winner’s enclosure, Suriname kickboxing talent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik handed Dagestan-born contender, Shamil Gaziev his first professional…
