UFC Baku Caps June Slate with Awesome Main Card!

UFC Baku fight week rolls on. Saturday night, MMA's No. 1 promotion ends its June schedule of events by making its second annual trip to the country of Azerbajian. 

Live coverage of UFC Baku gets underway from Crystal Hall with the prelims at the earlier start time of 9 am ET/ 6 am PT. If you're watching this card from inside the United States of America, Paramount Plus will show the event gavel-to-gavel.

Main card action follows at 12 noon ET/ 9 am PT. Barring any late postponements on the itinerary, Saturday's show will feature a slate of 13 fights for the last card from the UFC before an open date next weekend in observance of the Fourth of July holiday in America.

UFC Baku Main Event: No. 11 Contender Rafael Fiziev vs. No. 15 Contender Manuel Torres: Fiziev Looking to Secure Top 10 Spot

UFC Baku is a lean card when it comes to all-ranked matchups. There are only two such bouts on the show this weekend, including the lightweight tussle at the top of the bill.

No. 11 contender Rafael Fiziev (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) attempts to crack the top 10 at 155 when he fights No. 15 contender Manuel Torres (17-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC.) This fight is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to wrap up the evening's activities.

Fiziev enters this weekend's card having posted a record of 1-4 in his last five fights. On the night of Jan. 31, he trekked to Australia for UFC 325, losing by way of second-round knockout (punches) to Mauricio Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on the main card. Due to Ruffy's efforts, he secured the $50,000 (USD) bonus for the Performance of the Night.

As far as Rafael Fiziev is concerned, if he is to break through to the top 10 at lightweight, just winning the UFC Baku main event in Azerbajian on Saturday night may not be enough to get there. He may need a highlight-reel finish.

Manuel Torres Seeking to Begin Ascent on Rankings in UFC Baku

Meanwhile, Manuel Torres comes into Saturday night's main event with an inverse mark of 4-1 in his last five trips to the cage. He'll be making his first walk to the Octagon in 2026 on Saturday after a planned fight against Beneil Dariush in April was postponed due to an injury a month before the contest.  At the moment, he's won two fights in a row. 

Last time out, he scored a first-round knockout of Grant Dawson on Dec. 6 during UFC 323 inside T-Mobile Arena in Enterprise, NV. For the second successive contest, Torres received a cash advance of $50,000 for the Performance of the Night Bonus.

Although Torres is currently at No. 15 in the rankings, another finish in the UFC Baku main event will do wonders for him. Can he score another stoppage?

UFC Baku Co-Main Event: Shara Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira: "Bullet" Makes First Walk to Octagon in 11 Months

Immediately beforehand, the co-main event at middleweight sees a return to the Octagon 11 months in the making when Shara Magomedov (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) collides with Michel Pereira (34-14, 2 NC MMA, 10-5 UFC.) This is a three-round fight at five minutes per round.

Magomedov sports a record of 4-1 in his last five MMA encounters. Last July, he secured a unanimous decision victory over Marc-Andre Barriault (17-11, 1 NC MMA, 6-10, 1 NC UFC) after 15 minutes of action.

Although "Bullet" has been inactive in the world of MMA since then, he's stayed busy in combat sports of late, appearing in two grappling matches, both of which ended in draws. Magomedov has been away from MMA for 11 months, but can he resume his winning ways on Saturday?

Michel Pereira Seeking to Build Off February Win in Houston

Across the way, Michel Pereira enters UFC Baku's co-main attraction having posted a 2-3 mark in his past five bouts. On Feb. 21, he appeared on UFC Houston, scoring a split decision win against Zach Reese (10-3, 1 NC MMA, 4-3, 1 NC UFC.)

Pereira's win in Texas that night snapped a three-fight losing streak inside the Octagon dating back to October of 2024 during UFC Vegas 99 at the then-UFC Apex in Enterprise. Even though this is the co-main event of the evening at UFC Baku, this could end up being one of the most interesting fights of the evening.

One final word on this contest: Get your popcorn ready before the fight begins. You may not have enough time to pop it once the bout starts.

UFC Baku: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo: Sadykhov Makes First Walk of '26 After Delay

Also on the UFC Baku main card this Saturday, the lightweights go to battle for an encounter between Nazim Sadykhov (11-2-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) and Matheus Camilo (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC.) Sadykhov will be competing for the first time this year during Saturday's card.

He was previously scheduled to fight on April 11 in Miami versus MarQuel Medeiros before he was forced off of UFC 329 due to injury. Sadykhov owns a 3-1-1 record over the past five outings, including a second-round knockout loss last December versus Fares Ziam (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC.)

Sadykhov has some history in Baku. Last year, when the UFC made its first visit to Azerbajian, he finished Nikolas Motta (15-6, 1 NC MMA, 3-3, 1 NC UFC) with a right hook inside the second round. Will he go 2-for-2 in Baku?

Camilo Hunting for Second Straight Win

In the other corner, Matheus Camilo owns a 4-1 mark in his five latest bouts. Like Sadykhov, he'll also be making his first UFC appearance in 2026 on Saturday night in Baku.

He's gone 4-1 in his five most recent contests. In November, he secured his first win as a member of the UFC's active roster by unanimous decision versus Viacheslav Borshchev (8-8-1 MMA, 3-6-1 UFC.)

The Nov. 15 bout inside Madison Square Garden was Borshchev's final one under the UFC banner, with his release from the promotion coming a month later. Whether or not Camilo receives a second straight victory this weekend on Saturday remains to be seen.

Rest of the Card

UFC Baku's main card also includes these showcases:

• A flyweight bout matching No. 9 contender Asu Almabayev (22-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) against No. 14 contender Charles Johnson (19-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC,)
• a middleweight contest between Brunno Ferreira (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Ikram Aliskerov (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC,)
• and a middleweight encounter pairing Abus Magomedov (28-7-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) with Michal Oleksiejczuk (22-9, 1 NC MMA, 10-7, 1 NC UFC.)