Both [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag] and [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] are out of their respective bouts, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Reasons for both Roberts and Rakhmonov withdrawing were not disclosed. No replacement has been found for either of their opponents, Nicolas Dalby and Ramazan Emeev.
Roberts (17-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who snapped a two-fight losing streak with a knockout over Zelim Imadaev last November, originally was slated to face Dalby on March 21 in London, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fight was rebooked for the July 25 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, but Roberts has been forced to withdraw.
Rakhmonov (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will have to wait once again to make his UFC debut. He was initially scheduled to face Bartosz Fabinski on March 21 in London before the event was canceled. The undefeated Kazakhstani fighter was then matched up with Emeev on July 25 but has been forced out.
[lawrence-related id=531107,530946]
With the changes, the current July 25 lineup includes:
“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.
“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.
UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.
“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”
First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
[autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
[autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
[autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
[autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
[autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
[autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
[autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige
The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).
The complete lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)
Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
[autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
[autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]
PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)
[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
[autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
[autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
[autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo
Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.
The full card includes:
MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
[autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
[autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
[autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]
PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)
[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
[autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
[autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
[autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
[autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker
Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).
That night’s full lineup includes:
MAIN CARD
Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
[autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
[autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
[autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
[autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]
PRELIMINARY CARD
[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
[autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
[autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
[autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]
The UFC has plans to add a talent-rich Central Asian nation to its list of countries visited in 2020.
The UFC has expanded to nearly every corner of the globe during its aggressive growth spurt over the past decade-plus.
And now the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion appears poised to add a significant Central Asian republic to their list of countries visited.
The company is targeting Kazakhstan, which borders both Russia and China, for a June 13 event, likely to be a UFC on ESPN+ level card. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial report by MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
While the event does not have an official location, the 30,000-seat Astana Arena in the capital city of Nur-Sultan is a logical candidate.
The first Kazak fighter in UFC history, [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag], makes his UFC debut in London on March 21. The undefeated Rakhamonov will face Bartosz Fabinski in a welterweight matchup.
