Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all booked fights in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
For the second week in a row, we were treated to an electrifying UFC event. UFC Austin solidified itself as one of the top Fight Night events of the year after most contests ended in a finish. And the contests that went the distance were entertaining as hell. Now that it’s over, we can take a look at what awaits us on the upcoming schedule.
The UFC has announced or finalized 16 fights this week, and a pair of bantamweight contenders have agreed to meet this summer.
José Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili are set to share the Octagon at UFC 278, the pay-per-view event scheduled for Aug. 20 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Both men come into the fight on impressive winning streaks. The former UFC featherweight champion ended a three-fight losing streak with wins over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font in recent appearances. He sits at No. 3 in the official rankings. Dvalishvili has been on a tear lately, winning seven straight after going 0-2 early in his UFC tenure. The Georgian earned his first berth under the UFC banner in his last outing, a second-round technical knockout of Marlon Moraes at UFC 266 last September.
UFC Long Island – July 16
Phil Rowe vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov – welterweight
UFC London – July 23
Jai Herbert vs. Kyle Nelson – lightweight
Nathaniel Wood vs. Charles Rosa – featherweight
First representative. by Al Zullino
UFC Fight Night – August 6
Takashi Sato vs. Bryan Battle – welterweight
First representative. by MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck
Jason Witt vs. Josh Quinlan – welterweight
First representative. by Tudor Leonte de Sherdog
Shamil Gamzatov vs. Misha Cirkunov – light heavyweight
First representative. by MMA fight universe
UFC 278 – August 20
Tyson Pedro vs. Harry Hunsucker – light heavyweight
First representative. by MMA Junkie’s Nolan King and Farah Hannoun
Victor Altamirano vs. Daniel da Silva – Flyweight
First representative. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
José Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili – bantamweight
First representative. by Ariel Helwani
UFC Paris — September 3
Jéssica Andrade vs. Manon Fiorot – women’s flyweight
First representative. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi – lightweight
First representative. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
UFC Fight Night – September 17
Andre Fili vs. Lando Vannata – featherweight
First representative. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Sijara Eubanks vs. Maryna Moroz – Women’s Flyweight*
*Eubanks vs. Moroz was already finalized, but moved from UFC Vegas 58 to UFC on ESPN+ 69, per Cageside Press’ Alex Behunin
Damon Jackson vs. Pat Sabatini – featherweight
First representative. by Iridium Sports Agency
Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong – bantamweight
First representative. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
UFC Fight Night – October 1
Randy Costa vs. Guido Cannetti – bantamweight
First representative. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
Bellator fights announced:
Bellator 283 — July 22
Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire vs. Sidney Outlaw – Lightweight
Douglas Lima vs. Jason Jackson – welterweight*
* Lima vs. Jackson was already finalized, but moved from Bellator London to Bellator 283
Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Chris Gonzalez – lightweight
Adam Piccolotti vs. Tofiq Musayev — lightweight
Romero Cotton vs. Dalton Rosta – middleweight
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Bobby King – lightweight
Bellator 284 — August 12
Neiman Gracie vs. Goiti Yamauchi – welterweight
Valentin Moldavsky vs. Steve Mowry – heavyweight
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Bruna Ellen – Women’s Flyweight
Ilias Bulaid vs. Weber Almeida – featherweight
Jaylon Bates vs. Mark Coates – bantamweight
Said Sowma — Gokhan Saricam — heavyweight
DeAnna Bennett vs. Justine Kish – Women’s Flyweight
Cage Warriors fights announced:
Cage Warriors 140 – June 25
Michele Martignoni vs. Scott Malone – catchweight (132 lbs)
Cage Warriors 141 – July 22
Jeremy Petley vs. Steve Aimable – featherweight
Ander Sanchez vs. Lone’er Kavanagh – Flyweight
Reece McEwan vs. Kingsley Crawford – bantamweight
Agy Sardari vs. Michal Figlak – lightweight
Sam Creasey vs. Dylan Hazan – flyweight
Invicta FC Announced Fights:
Invicta FC 48 — July 20
Melissa Parker vs. Isis Verbeek – Women’s Strawweight
KSW fights announced:
KSW 73 — August 20
Arkadiusz Wrzosek vs. Tomasz Sarara – heavyweight
