It seems incredible that we are already into the second quarter of the year, but the UFC events continue to come thick and fast. We’ve already had some enthralling encounters in places as far afield as Mexico City and London, England – as well as at the spiritual home of the organization, Las Vegas, NV.
Much of the attention on UFC, and MMA in particular, is centered on the Freedom 250 event that is scheduled to take place at the White House in June. But there are plenty of other big fight nights to look forward to before then. If you are planning to place a UFC moneyline bet on your favorite, you will be spoiled for choice in the weeks and months ahead.
We are going to have a quick recap on the biggest results of the last few MMA fight nights, as well as take a look forward to what is on the UFC calendar for May, before that very special occasion in the nation’s capital.
April Fight Nights and UFC 327
The fight nights over the last few weeks have served up some intriguing encounters, with Israel Adesanya’s return to the octagon ending in defeat to Joe Pyfer in just two rounds. The night in Seattle saw a whole host of first-round stoppages, as the Pacific Northwest was treated to some brutal takedowns.
In the other Fight Nights in April, Renato Moicano overcame Chris Duncan in the headline bout at the Meta Apex, while UFC’s first visit to Winnipeg in nearly ten years saw Canadian fighter Mike Malott finish off Gilbert Burns in three rounds to wrap up proceedings.
In between those two events, fight fans were treated to the spectacle of UFC 327. The Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, played host to a light heavyweight bout for the vacant title, which was top of the card. Carlos Ulberg needed fewer than four minutes to defeat Jiri Procházka and take the honors.
Upcoming Fight Nights
The Fight Nights keep coming at the end of April and into May, with events in Perth, Australia, and Macau, China, as well as back in Las Vegas. As is UFC’s way, an Australian fighter, Jack Della Maddalena, tops the bill in Perth, with his welterweight bout against Carlos Prates, who will be hoping to silence the hometown crowd.
UFC’s return to the Galaxy Arena in Macau is then set to be a treat for MMA fans in Asia, with Chinese fighter Song Yadong taking on Delveson Figueiredo in the bantamweight class. Yadong’s compatriot, Zhang Mingyang, will also feature, Alonzo Menifield in the light heavyweight division.
UFC 328
As exciting as Fight Nights are, wherever they take place, the big event in May will be UFC 328. All eyes will be on the East Coast as a night of brutal bouts is scheduled to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. A planned fight between Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov will now not take place because of injury, but there is still a packed card for UFC fans to enjoy.
There will be two championship bouts on the night, with the first a flyweight battle between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira. Van is the current champion after defeating Alexander Pantoja in December of last year, and he will be very confident of keeping his impressive record intact. Van has won his last six fights, all at big events, and boasts a 16-2 overall record going into this event. Taira is currently ranked third in the flyweight division, but has an equally impressive record of 18-1, with his only defeat coming against Brandon Royval in a split decision back in 2024. It promises to be a hugely engaging encounter.
Once the Newark fans have enjoyed that flyweight title bout, the headline event is another championship fight, this time between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland. Strickland is the current number three fighter in the division and will be hoping that his wealth of experience will be enough to defeat the reigning champ. After taking the belt by beating Israel Adesanya in 2023, Strickland was unable to overcome Dricus de Plessis on two occasions and might see this as his final chance of glory.
Beating Chimaev will not be easy, however. The Chechen fighter has been unstoppable since joining UFC six years ago, and still boasts an undefeated 15-0 record. His most recent fight was his crowning of the middleweight division, when he defeated the reigning champ, De Plessis, over five rounds in Chicago. Chimaev’s wrestling background makes him a very dangerous fighter, and Strickland will do well to escape any submission holds that Chimaev, ranked number three pound-for-pound, pulls out.
UFC Freedom 250
May promises to be a very interesting month in UFC, but it is the grand occasion coming up later in the year that may fans are talking about. Ever since it was first mentioned that there could be a big MMA event at the White House, there has been fevered speculation about which fighters will be on show, and which belts will be up for grabs.
We now know that there will be six bouts, featuring some of the biggest names in UFC. Each one will be special, but the two co-headliners promise to be memorable. Former two-time light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who has also held the middleweight title, takes on former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. That is sure to be one to remember – and that will come before another, equally intriguing, title bout.
A unification bout between the current lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje will round off the event in fine style. Topuria is still undefeated after 17 professional fights, while Gaethje is looking to keep up his recent good form to finally take the belt for himself. All in all, it will be an exciting few months for UFC fans as the sport reaches new levels across the world.