Tag: UFC 293

Heavyweights Tai Tuivasa, Alexander Volkov tapped for UFC 293 clash in Sydney

Tai Tuivasa will attempt to snap his two-fight losing skid on home soil when he meets Alexander Volkov at UFC 293 in Sydney.

[autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag] will attempt to get back on track in his home country.

Tuivasa (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) has signed on to meet former Bellator champ and fellow heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (36-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) at UFC 293, a person close to the situation informed MMA Junkie on Thursday. The person requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

UFC 293 takes place Sept. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

Tuivasa, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie heavyweight rankings, will try to return to form after back-to-back knockout losses against Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane. The skid snapped a five-fight winning streak for “Bam Bam,” all of which came by knockout.

It won’t be an easy task against No. 9 Volkov, however, who is in the midst of a two-fight winning streak against Alexandr Romanov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, both of whom the Russian stopped by TKO inside the first round.

The latest UFC 293 lineup now includes:

  • Viviane Araujo vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Da-un Jung vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara-France
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

Kai Kara-France vs. Manel Kape targeted for UFC 293 in Sydney

Verbal agreements are in place for a UFC 293 matchup between ranked flyweights, with Kai Kara-France fighting on home soil.

Fresh off his controversial loss to Amir Albazi, [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] has been booked close to home.

Verbal agreements are in place for a flyweight matchup between Kara-France (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on Sept. 9 at UFC 293 in Sydney. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

City Kickboxing’s Kara-France will look to rebound from his split decision loss to Albazi in the UFC on ESPN 45 headliner less than three weeks ago. The setback marked Kara-France’s second in a row after falling short in a TKO loss to Brandon Moreno for the interim flyweight title at UFC 277.

Winner of his past three in a row, former Rizin bantamweight champion Kape hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision win over David Dvorak last December at UFC Fight Night 216. Since then, “Starboy” saw two matchups with Alex Perez and former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo scrapped.

With the addition, the current UFC 293 lineup currently includes:

  • Viviane Araujo vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Da-un Jung vs. Carlos Ulberg
  • Manel Kape vs. Kai Kara-France

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

Carlos Ulberg added to UFC 293 lineup, meets Da-un Jung in Sydney

Carlos Ulberg will get to compete close to home for the first time in his UFC career. 

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] will get to compete close to home for the first time in his UFC career.

Ulberg (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Da-un Jung[/autotag] (15-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by UFC Korea on Instagram in a now-deleted post.

Since getting stopped by Kennedy Nzechukwu in his promotional debut at UFC 259, Ulberg has won four straight. The City Kickboxing fighter has knocked out his past three opponents in a row – most recently a Performance of the Night TKO of Ihor Potieria in May.

Jung will look to rebound after dropping two straight to Dustin Jacoby and Devin Clark. Prior to that, the South Korean fighter was unbeaten in his first five octagon bouts, including a first-round knockout of Nzechukwu.

With the addition, the current UFC 293 lineup currently includes:

  • Viviane Araujo vs. Casey O’Neill
  • Da-un Jung vs. Carlos Ulberg

Casey O’Neill booked against Viviane Araujo at UFC 293 in Sydney

Casey O’Neill will look to rebound on home soil when the UFC returns to Australia.

[autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] will look to rebound on home soil.

O’Neill takes on [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Friday after an initial report by MMA Fighting.

O’Neill (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered her first professional loss to former title challenger Jennifer Maia at UFC 286 in March. The Maia fight marked the Scotland-born Australian’s first competition since recovering from ACL surgery.

After winning five of her first seven octagon bouts – including wins over Montana De La Rosa and Andrea Lee – Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has lost two straight for the first time in her career. The 36-year-old dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions to current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and most recently Amanda Ribas at UFC 285.

O’Neill vs. Araujo is the first addition to the UFC’s return to Australia.

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and heavyweight contender Tai Tuivasa are also expected to compete on the card.

UFC 293 heads to Sydney, Australia as first event of new four-year New South Wales deal

UFC 293 heads down under, as Dana White announces a new four-year deal with the New South Wales government.

The UFC is headed down under once again in 2023.

UFC 293 will take place Sept. 9 in Sydney, Australia. Promotion president Dana White announced the news Wednesday on Twitter and added it will be the first leg of a three-event, four-year partnership with the New South Wales government to bring pay-per-view events to the region.

The September pay-per-view event, which will take place locally Sept. 10, marks the promotion’s second event in Australia this calendar year. In February, UFC 284 took place in Perth, Western Australia.

The promotion has not held an event in Sydney since a UFC Fight Night event headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Marcin Tybura in November 2017.

No fights have been announced for the card at this time, though White revealed in April the promotion expects middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. the winner of the UFC 290 title eliminator July 8 between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis to take place in Sydney in 2023.