UFC 332 Opens October with Thrilling Prelims!

UFC 332 fight week is here. While Saturday marks the opening day of action in Major League Baseball's League Division Series in postseason play, not everybody in the country will be fixated on a baseball game. The month of October begins for the UFC in Salt Lake City this weekend.

Delta Center, the home court of the NBA's Utah Jazz, serves as the setting for the first event from MMA's No. 1 promotion in the 10th month of the year. Live coverage of UFC 332 begins at an earlier than normal start time of 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT with the early prelims. Stateside, this portion of UFC 332 can be seen in a simulcast on Paramount Plus and UFC Fight Pass.

Late prelims follow at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on Paramount Plus only before the main card begins at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT in a simulcast on Paramount Plus and CBS. For the first time since Paramount Plus assumed streaming rights to UFC cards, a full main card will be seen via linear television on CBS. 14 fights are scheduled

UFC 332 Featured Prelim: Imanol Rodriguez vs. Alden Coria: Rodriguez Returns After Delay

At the top of the undercard, the flyweights take to the fabled Octagon for a contest between Imanol Rodriguez (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC,) formerly of Fury FC, and Alden Coria (13-3, 1 NC MMA, 3-0 UFC,) an alumnus of the LFA. All fights mentioned herein are three rounds at five minutes per round.

Rodriguez has yet to lose in professional MMA. He'll return to competition this weekend just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of securing his UFC deal by way of Contender Series.

This past February, he scored a second-round knockout over Kevin Borjas (11-6 MMA, 2-5 UFC) in Mexico City. Rodriguez was then slated to make a June 6 return against Matt Schnell (17-11, 1 NC MMA, 7-9, 1 NC UFC) but was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury in May of this year.

He's had over four months to recover and prepare for his sophomore bout in UFC. How will he do after seven months away?

Alden Coria on Hot Streak of His Own

Meanwhile, Alden Coria has posted a 5-0 record as part of a seven-fight unbeaten streak dating back to June of 2024. Most recently, he bested Stewart Nicoll (8-4 MMA, 0-4 UFC.) 

This was Nicoll's last loss in the UFC as he was cut from the promotion's active roster in August. Getting back to Alden Coria, he's been on a tear of late in the sport of MMA and is perfect under the UFC promotional banner since joining the roster in September of last year.

When a fighter like Alden Coria is on a sustained run of success, he can be nearly unbeatable on a given Saturday night inside the cage. Can he go 4-for-4 in the UFC?

UFC 332 Co-Featured Prelim: Damian Pinas vs. Andrey Pulyaev: Pinas Hunting for Seventh Straight Knockout 

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured undercard bout takes place inside the flyweight ranks. Damian Pinas (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) goes to battle against Andrey Pulyayev (10-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC.) Pinas has gone 5-0 in his last five fights as part of an ongoing six-fight winning streak.

More impressively, all wins in his current streak have been recorded via knockout, including his latest against Cesar Almeida (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC.) A straight right with 16 seconds remaining in the first round would spell the end of the fight in July.

This may prove to be another easy assignment for Pinas and his camp. His opponent has struggled of late inside the cage.

Andrey Pulyayev on Skid Ahead of UFC 332

Across the way, Andrey Pulyayev enters UFC 332 with a 2-3 record in his last five outings. At the moment, he's dropped two fights in a row.

On the night of June 27, he was on the receiving end of a first-round submission by way of rear-naked choke from Nursulton Ruziboev (37-10-2, 2 NC MMA, 5-2 UFC.) Given that Pulyayev's opponent is on a hot streak, the challenge will be there for him on Saturday night.

Will Pulyayev be the one to stop Damian Pinas' winning streak? Tune in and find out.

UFC 332: No. 15 Contender No. 15 Bantamweight Contender Marcus McGhee vs. Anthony Romero: McGhee Makes Second Walk to Cage in '26

Also on the UFC 332 late prelims, featherweight action takes place when No. 15 bantamweight contender Marcus McGhee (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) meets Anthony Romero (7-2, 1 NC MMA, UFC promotional debut.)  McGhee enters the weekend on the strength of a 4-1 record in his last five appearances.

On June 6, he returned to victory lane with a unanimous decision victory over John Yannis (10-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a short-notice bout for the latter. It's been four months between fights for McGhee and his camp. 

Now that he's at the bottom of the rankings at 135, just winning the bout at UFC 332 may not be enough for McGhee to improve his stature at the division. He'll need to start stringing wins together, and it can continue with Saturday's bout.

Anthony Romero Comes In on Three Days Notice

In the other corner, Anthony Romero makes his short-notice UFC debut sporting a record of 2-2 with one no-contest in his last five fights. He's won two fights in succession.

On May 9, Romero, the former UNF Bantamweight Champion, successfully defended his strap with a first-round knockout in 25 seconds against Yuma Horiguchi (11-7 MMA) during UNF 33.  Romero serves as the late replacement for McGhee's original adversary, Bernardo Sopaj, who is out of UFC 332 due to injury.

A week ago at this time, Romero wasn't even so much as booked to fight. With only three days to prepare, how will he fare here in this featherweight bout?

Rest of the Prelims:

UFC 332's undercard is rounded out by these fights:

• a heavyweight contest between Anthony Wint (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Lucas Armand (6-0 MMA, UFC debut,)
• a heavyweight bout pairing Johnny Walker (22-10, 1 NC MMA, 8-7, 1 NC UFC) against Mick Parkin (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the featured early prelim,
• a welterweight fight versing Jacobe Smith (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) with Bruce Whitehead (8-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut) during the co-featured early prelim,
• a lightweight contest pitting Rafael dos Anjos (32-17 MMA, 21-15 UFC) against Alexander Hernandez (18-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC,)
• a middleweight affair between Marvin Vettori (19-9-1 MMA, 9-8-1 UFC) and Ismail Naurdiev (25-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC,)
• and a welterweight fixture pairing Court McGee (22-14 MMA, 11-13 UFC) with Eric Nolan (8-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC.)