We’re into the fourth quarter of 2024, and just six UFC events remain for the year.
Here is a look at them, including watch information and why you might want to watch each event.
Nov 2 – UFC Fight Night Edmonton
- Main Event – No. 2 Brandon Moreno vs. No. 3 Amir Albazi – Men’s Flyweight
- Co-Main Event – No. 3 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 5 Rose Namajunas – Women’s Strawweight
- Time: 8 pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
As UFC Fight Night events go, this one is on the top shelf–at least in name recognition. Two former champions are on the card, and one, Namajunas, is a future UFC Hall-of-Famer. Moreno, the other former champion, might be the only person standing between Albazi and a title shot at 125 pounds.
In total, there are nine ranked opponents scheduled for action in Edmonton. If you’re an MMA fan, this feels like a no-brainer to watch.
Nov 9 – UFC Vegas 100
- Main Event – No. 15 Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
- Co-Main Event – Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles John
- Time: 4 pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
The UFC Vegas cards are usually on the bottom tier of cards featuring signed fighters regarding recognizable names. Because this is the 100th event at the UFC’s Apex, there may be a little more significance.
Magny is clinging to his ranking in the welterweight division by a thread, and Prates looks like the guy with the scissors. However, we’ve seen Magny in a similar situation before, like when he upset the highly touted Mike Malott in January and watched the Haitian Sensation come out on top. Prates, who hails from the Fighting Nerds camp looks like a different beast, so we’ll see.
Former bantamweight champion Garbrandt is fighting Johns in the co-main, and four ranked fighters are on the card. From a debut standpoint, former ONE Championship standout Reinier de Ridder makes his first Octagon walk against Gerald Meerschaert and Dana White Contender Series Season 8 standouts Mansur Abdul Malik and Cortavious Romious make their main roster debuts.
Nov 16 – UFC 309
- Main Event – (c) Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – UFC Heavyweight Championship
- Co-Main Event – Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler
- Time: 10 pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
The greatest mixed martial artist of all time is back in action, and that could be a good enough reason for anyone who likes MMA. Depending on how you look at it, Jones has been the recipient or the victim of White’s layered campaign to besmirch Francis Ngannou because the UFC’s head man has praised Bones with renewed vigor since the Predator left his organization for the Professional Fighters League.
In any case, Jones is still the best to do it in the sport. Miocic is the most accomplished heavyweight in history, so this clash is natural. If anything falls apart, interim champion Tom Aspinall would step in to replace Jones or Miocic.
In the co-main, we’re getting the rematch that no one wanted. Oliveira struggled with Chandler in the first round of their first fight but wiped him out in the second with superior boxing. Since then, Chandler has gone 1-2, with his only victory coming over Tony Ferguson, who has lost seven fights in a row.
Perhaps Chandler has something in store for Oliveira, but the former will likely be a sizable underdog. Even with Jones’ presence, this card is one of the weakest UFC pay-per-views of the year on paper.
Nov 23 – UFC Fight Night Macau
- Main Event – No. 3 Petr Yan vs. No. 5 Deiveson Figueiredo
- Co-Main Event – No. 2 Yan Xiaonan vs. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci
- Time: 6 am ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
I love this card, but I wish I didn’t have to wake up with the roosters to watch it. As it is, the entire main card is compelling. Yan vs. Figueiredo could be a classic, and it might also be a title eliminator in the bantamweight division. If Ricci wins in the co-main event, she might be next in line to receive a title shot against Weili Zhang or whoever is the strawweight champ after the latter’s next title defense.
We also have the next fight for Wang Cong, the dynamic women’s strawweight KO artist who paints her face like the Joker for the weigh-ins.
Light heavyweight slugger Zhang Mingyang is also in action, and there is a Top-10 battle at 205 pounds between Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg. The prelims will include the fighters from the Road to the UFC: China event.
Dec 7 – UFC 310
- Main Event – (c) Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkhat Rahkmonov – UFC welterweight championship
- Co-Main Event – (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – UFC men’s flyweight championship
- Time: 10 pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
Whenever two world titles are on the line, the ceiling is higher for the pay-per-view. While Muhammad may not be the most popular current champion, he is on the longest win streak in the promotion, and Rahkmonov could argue that he is the best non-champion currently in the UFC. Seeing them clash could be a treat.
The second championship fight will see Pantoja defending his title against Asakura, and the latter will make his UFC debut. The card will also include a heavyweight title eliminator between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov.
We’re supposed to see the return of Nick Diaz, but we’ve learned not to hold our breath on that concept. Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling will clash in a crucial featherweight title bout, and we’ll also see the main-roster debut of towering Brazilian heavyweight Tallison Teixeira. This is a really good one on paper.
Dec 14 – UFC Fight Night Tampa
- Main Event – TBD
- Co-Main Event – TBD
- Time: 7 pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
What’s in it for you?
We don’t know the main and co-main events for this card. Manel Kape could be in the main event against Bruno Silva, but that is unconfirmed.
All we know at this point is that DWCS Season 8 standout Navajo Stirling is set to make his main roster debut. As more information is revealed, I’ll update this section.
And like that, the UFC is scheduled to be off until January 11, 2025. In the meantime, I suspect I will hear several announcements about Zuffa Boxing and the new UFC rankings system.
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