UFC London Calling
With the UFC’s 2024 calendar wrapping up after this Saturday’s event in Tampa Bay, Florida, the promotion’s matchmakers have been hard at work planning for the first quarter of the new year.
Some major fights have already been announced for the first pay-per-view event of the year when UFC 311 goes down at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. This week has also seen some interesting matchups being confirmed for the UFC London event that takes place at the 02 Arena in London, England on March 22.
News dropped earlier this week that former 205-lb. champion Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) will finally make his long-awaited return to action. The 41-year-old Pole hasn’t fought since losing a split decision to Alex Pereira at UFC 291 back in July of 2023.
Blachowicz will face surging prospect Carlos Ulberg (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) who will be brimming with confidence having racked up seven consecutive victories since losing his UFC debut to Kennedy Nzechukwu in early 2021.
Alongside that light heavyweight clash, five other fights have also been confirmed for UFC London:
Molly McCann vs. Istela Nunes
Molly McCann (14-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) will be looking to return to the win column in the women’s strawweight division when she takes on Istela Nunes. “Meatball” was last seen in action when she lost to Bruna Brasil at UFC 304 back in July. The Scouser has generally been a mainstay on the UFC’s UK events since signing with the promotion back in 2020 but has been struggling to find consistency of late.
McCann has now lost three of her last four fights inside the Octagon but looks to be taking a step back in terms of level of competition. She will square off against Istela Nunes (6-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC).
The Brazilian has lost all four of her fights in the UFC to date (and has been finished in three of them) and will surely be fighting to keep her job when the pair walk into the Octagon in March.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
Alonzo Menifield (15-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) will be hoping for better fortunes in the new year after losing both of his UFC fights in 2024. The 37-year-old’s five-fight unbeaten streak was ended unceremoniously when he was knocked out in just 12 seconds by Carlos Ulberg back in May.
“Atomic” returned to face Azamat Murzakanov in August but was stopped once again, leaving him hanging onto his place in the light heavyweight rankings by a thread.
His opponent, Oumar Sy (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) comes into this event in a hot streak of form. The KSW veteran has finished eight of the eleven opponents he has faced throughout his professional career and was last seen in action in September picking up a unanimous decision victory over Da Woon Jung at the Accor Arena in his native France.
Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
Two ranked heavyweights go head-to-head as England’s Mick Parkin (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) looks to continue his sensational form the experienced Marcin Tybura (26-9 MMA, 13-8 UFC).
Parkin, a training partner of UFC interim champion Tom Aspinall, came into the UFC off the back of an impressive submission win over Eduardo Neves on Dana White’s Contender Series back in August of 2022.
His first-round knockout victory over Lukasz Brzeski at UFC 304 in July earned him a performance of the night bonus and a spot in the heavyweight top 15.
Marcin Tybura (26-9 MMA, 13-8 UFC) joins his fellow countryman Blachowicz on the card following a mixed bag of results in 2024. Two stoppage wins over Tai Tuivasa and Jhonata Diniz were separated by a first-round submission defeat at the hands of Serghei Spivac.
Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
Shauna Bannon (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will fly the flag for her native Ireland when she takes on Puja Tomar (9-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
Bannon, a world champion in both kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, got her hand raised inside the Octagon at the second attempt when she beat Alice Ardelean at UFC 304 in July, and the former Cage Legacy champion will be looking to build on that result going into 2025.
Tomar made her promotional debut back in August when the UFC rolled into Louisville, Kentucky. “The Cyclone” picked up a split decision victory over Rayanne Amanda and the Indian strawweight has knocked out six of the nine opponents she has faced during her professional career to date.
Andrey Pulyaev vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
Former Cage Warriors champion Christian Leroy Duncan (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) welcomes UFC newcomer Andrey Pulyaev (9-2 MMA) to the Octagon. “CLD” has brought an exciting flavor to the UFC’s middleweight division and despite losing to Gregory Rodrigues and Armen Petrosyan since signing with the promotion back in 2023, the Englishman has also finished Dusko Todorovic, Denis Tiuliulin and Claudio Ribeiro in impressive fashion.
Pulyaev will be making the walk to the Octagon for the first time following his unanimous decision victory over Liam Anderson on Dana White’s Contender Series back in August.
UFC London goes down at the 02 Arena in London, England on March 22, 2025.
