The UFC has continued to expand in 2022 after having one of its most lucrative and captivating years in company history. Here is the list of upcoming UFC events and fights (cards are subject to change):
On Saturday, December 10, at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena:
Main card:
For the vacant light heavyweight title, we will see a Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev fight. Paddy Pimblett will fight against Jared Gordon for the lightweight title. Alex Morono and Santiago Ponzinibbio will fight in the welterweight category. We will see Darren Till and Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title. Bryce Mitchell and Ilia Topuria will have at it for the featherweight title.
Prelims:
• Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Chris Daukaus
• Bantamweight: Paul Rosas Jr vs. Jay Perrin
• Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dalcha Lungiambula and Chris Curtis vs. Jaoquin Buckley
Early Prelims:
• Featherweight: Billy Quarantillo vs. Alexander Hernandez and TJ Brown vs Erik Silva
• Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Antonio Trocoli
• Flyweight: Vinicius Salvador vs. Daniel da Silva
• Bantamweight: Cameron Saaiman vs. Steven Koslow
Tiger feat: Island Muay Thai gym is factory for UFC champions
Attracting fighters
Tiger Muay Thai gym on the southern resort island of Phuket was, before the coronavirus pandemic, attracting fighters from all over the globe lured by world-class training, an idyllic tropical beach lifestyle and a growing reputation.
(In pic: UFC flyweight fighters Antonina Shevchenko (L) and Valentina Shevchenko going through their paces at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Phuket.)
Producing world champions
It has produced a string of fighters progressing into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the globe’s biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, with several going on to become world champions. Lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev (in pic), who is from Kyrgyzstan, steps into the cage in Las Vegas this weekend hoping to be the latest fighter to begin a journey to UFC glory.
Inspiration
MMA was one of the first sports to restart after the pandemic shutdown. Though quarantine and travel restrictions have hit international fighters hard, the success of UFC champions who use Tiger Muay Thai for pre-fight camps, such as bantamweight Petr Yan of Russia and Kyrgyzstan’s fearsome flyweight Valentina Shevchenko, is continuing to inspire the next generation.
(In pic: Petr Yan of Russia punches Jose Aldo of Brazil in their UFC bantamweight championship fight.)
Breeding success
George Hickman (in pic), MMA coach at Tiger Muay Thai said, “The fighters we have coming through help to breed success. Seeing them train inspires everyone. You can watch someone like Petr work on his clinch game with the Muay Thai fighters, then you can see that play out in his fights. He’s a sponge, and that’s what the great fighters are. They’re always looking for an edge and everyone learns from that.”
Explosive UFC talents
One of the most explosive UFC talents, middleweight champ Israel Adesanya of New Zealand, has also tapped into the gym as has Australian featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski. And Thailand’s first UFC star, strawweight Loma Lookboonmee, has caused an explosion of interest in MMA in her home country, encouraging fighters to make the move from traditional forms of combat such as kickboxing or Muay Thai.
(In pic: Opponents Loma Lookboonmee (L) of Thailand and Jinh Yu Frey face off during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in on October 02, 2020 in Abu Dhabi.)
On Saturday, December 17, the UFC Fight Night will see:
Middleweight:
• Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland
• Albert Duraev vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Julian Marquez vs. Deron Winn
Welterweight:
• Jake Matthews vs. Matthew Semelsberger
• Michael Morales vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
Lightweight:
• Arman Tsarukyan vs. Damir Ismagulov
• Rafa Garcia vs. Maheshate
Alex Caceres and Julian Erosa will fight for the featherweight category, Brandon Royval and Amir Albazi for flyweight, while Sergey Morozov and Journey Newson will fight for the bantamweight category.
FAQs:
- Where will the fight happen?
Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena.
- When will they happen?
They are on December 10 and 17.
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