Islam Makhachev will return to the Octagon on July 17, per sources. Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises set for a three-rounder at UFC Fight Night.
Makhachev (19-1) is the No. 10 ranked lightweight in the UFC. The 29-year-old Russian, who is a close friend of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has a 7-1 record in the Octagon and most recently bested Drew Dober by submission at UFC 259. He has been someone who many analysts of the sport have suggested could be a UFC champion for quite some time now, and with Nurmagomedov now retired, it’s possible that Makhachev makes a run for the belt now. Although he was hoping to get a top-10 ranked opponent, Makhachev will instead have to settle for a fight against the underrated Moises.
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Last week’s UFC Vegas 26 fight night ended up something of a mishmash of last second matchmaking and reorganization following a bad run of injury and illness luck. What was supposed to be TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen ended up as Marina Rodriguez vs. Michelle Waterson. And Diego Sanchez saw his final UFC bout end before it even started, getting tossed out on his ear just a week out from the event resulting in Alex Morono stepping up to fight ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on a few days notice. Despite all that, however, the last few bouts of the night delivered solid entertainment.
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The UFC 263 card looks more stacked than ever after it was confirmed that Nate Diaz vs Leon Edwards has been moved to this event.
Diaz and Edwards were initially set to square off at UFC 262 which will take place next weekend. However, it’s now been confirmed that an undisclosed minor injury has forced it to be moved back a month to UFC 263 in Glendale.
The card has yet to be fully fleshed out but as of this writing, the bouts that have been announced could quite easily make this one of the biggest and most highly anticipated cards of the year.
The UFC will look to keep their pay-per-view hot streak going as they announced UFC 263, set for Saturday, June 15th in Glendale, Arizona.
The Gila River Arena show will feature two title fights as Israel Adesanya will look to defend his middleweight title against Marvin Vettori while flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will once again battle Brandon Moreno.
The former is a rematch of an April 2018 fight Adesanya won by split decision in just his second Octagon encounter. He ll be looking for the third defense of his middleweight title and is coming off his first professional MMA defeat at the hands of light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in March. Vettori rides into the fight on a five-fight win streak with his last loss being the Adesanya fight.
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is now in the books. The main event may not have electrified anyone, but Marvin Vettori proved that he’s not about to get unseated from his spot in the middleweight top 5 anytime soon. Otherwise, Arnold Allen announced himself as a contender on the rise for the featherweight division. And Mackenzie Dern kept her hype train on the tracks with a dominating win over Nina Nunes.
So, does Vettori have a shot at leapfrogging Whittaker for the next chance to fight Israel Adesanya? Is there anyone in the top 10 Arnold Allen would be willing to call out? And how soon before we’re talking about Mackenzie Dern as a strawweight title challenger?