Tuesday, July 22 was one of those days for UFC CEO Dana White. The face of the biggest MMA organization in the world dropped one of those fight info bombs.
White announced four enormous fights for October that could reconstruct the championship landscape in the UFC.
Let’s start with UFC 320, which is set for Las Vegas on October 4.
There are three huge fights confirmed. In the main event, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev will rematch former two-division champion Alex Pereira.
Ankalaev dethroned Pereira in a disputed decision at UFC 313 in March. The Brazilian gets a chance to win back his title before potentially making a move up to heavyweight. More on that division in a minute.
The champion is riding an 12-fight win streak in the UFC. His only career loss came via submission in the final second of his UFC debut. The first fight with Pereira was razor-close, with Ankalaev using his grappling edge to edge out the win.
In the co-main event of the Vegas card, reigning UFC men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will attempt to log his third successful title defense in the calendar year when he takes on Cory Sandhagen.
Dvalishvili’s strength of schedule has been unbelievable throughout his career. He’s already arguably the best bantamweight in UFC history. But if he knocks off Sandhagen, he has to silence any critic that suggests he’s not atop the mountain when it comes to 135-pounders.
Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight win streak with victories over Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and Sean O’Malley (twice). No one in bantamweight history has a better case for sustained excellence, especially when you consider the variety of styles he’s dominated. A win over Sandhagen would make him a front runner for Fighter of the Year.
Sandhagen is a longtime contender who has never had his opportunity to fight for the title. He’s getting his opportunity on October 4, and it is coming on what’s shaping up to be a massive card.
Here is a look at White’s announcement:
As if that wasn’t enough, White also announced Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Jiri Prochazka on the main card. That fight could easily be a co-main event of a pay-per-view. On this card, it’ll probably be a step down. The winner could be in a position to challenge for the title at 205 pounds.
If Pereira wins, he’ll probably move up and vacate the title. If he loses, the winner of Rountree–Prochazka would have as strong of a case as anyone besides No. 3 Carlos Ulberg for the title.
That’s a healthy day’s worth of major UFC announcements, but there was one more.
White also announced the main event for UFC 321 on October 25 in Abu Dhabi. Newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will make his first title defense against Ciryl Gane.
While this matchup doesn’t jump out as a mouthwatering fight, it is good to see the heavyweight title back in the mix with some clarity around it and the champion.
Aspinall is finally getting a chance to move on with his life and to prove he’s a legit world champion. Gane has struggled to look world-class for years.