UFC 322 fight week is here. Every November, MMA’s top promotion in the world heads to New York City for one of the year’s most-anticipated premium live events. This week, Madison Square Garden is the site for the penultimate premium event of 2025 and penultimate PPV of the ESPN era.
Live coverage of UFC 322 begins with the early prelims on Saturday night at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT from The World’s Most Famous Arena. Inside the United States, this portion of the show can be seen on ESPN+, in addition to UFC Fight Pass. If you’re watching the early prelims on traditional TV, FX will carry this phase of the card live.
Late prelims at UFC 322 follow at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN+ and ESPNNEWS via linear television before capping off the night with a five-fight main card at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view. After Saturday night’s schedule of events, only three UFC shows remain before the calendar switches to 2026.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf there are no adjustments between now and the weekend, the final version of Saturday night’s card features a slate of 14 fights in The Big Apple.
UFC 322 Featured Prelim: Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Viera
At the top of the bill on Saturday night in New York City, the middleweights take to the fabled Octagon when Bo Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) looks to rebound from his first career defeat in MMA against Rodolfo Viera (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
Nickal has posted a record of 4-1 since joining the UFC’s active roster in March of 2023. This past spring, he tasted defeat for the first time in MMA with a second-round knockout from Reinier de Ridder (21-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Nashville. Since then, he’s returned to his wrestling roots.
Back on Aug. 30 in Cleveland, during the inaugural card from Real American Freestyle on FOX Nation, Nickal battled Jacob Cardenas, winning by way of decision. While a fighter of Bo Nickal’s ilk can be a dangerous fighter on any given evening, given that he’s coming off of a loss in his last UFC fight, he may be even more dangerous this week.
Across the way, Rodolfo Viera will be making the walk in UFC 322’s featured prelim on the strength of a record of 3-2 in his last five contests inside the cage. Three months ago at the UFC Apex, he bested Tresean Gore (5-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC,) who missed weight the day before the contest, via unanimous decision.
This fight was Tresean Gore’s second straight defeat. Viera has done pretty well across all competitions heading into UFC 322 on Saturday night. Counting grappling matches, he’s won four out of his last five fights, but how will this contest go in New York City?
UFC 322 Co-Featured Prelim: Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Immediately beforehand, the co-featured prelim of the evening at UFC 322 features another middleweight contest matching Roman Kopylov (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) against Gregory Rodrigues (17-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC.) Kopylov will be touching down in New York City having posted a mark of 3-2 over the course of his five latest fights.
On July 19 in New Orleans, he tasted defeat from Paulo Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in UFC 318. This fight vs. Costa was a rebooking of a postponed contest from June 28. UFC officials moved the fight to the New Orleans card prior to UFC 317.
Prior to the rebooking against Paulo Costa, Roman Kopylov had won two fights in a row. Will he be able to bounce back in this co-featured undercard fixture?
Across the way, Gregory Rodrigues enters the Madison Square Garden card sporting a 4-1 record in his last five appearances. He returned to victory lane on June 28 in UFC 317 with a first-round knockout over Jack Hermansson (24-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC.)
In so doing, Rodrigues pocketed a cash advance to the tune of $50,000 (USD) for the Performance of the Night Award. This was his second consecutive post-fight bonus, having received $50,000 in February for the Fight of the Night against Jared Cannonier at the UFC Apex facility.
Gregory Rodrigues knows how to get on the highlight reel with a spectacular finish, having won 75 percent of his bouts before the final horn blares since joining the UFC. Will he be trending on social media this Saturday night?
UFC 322: No. 4 Contender Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 8 Contender Tracy Cortez
Also on the UFC 322 prelims, the women’s flyweight division takes the stage for a critical fight as it relates to the championship picture. No. 4 contender Erin Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will return to action after seeing a May fight against Maycee Barber cancelled just moments before it was to have begun due to Barber’s medical issues backstage at the UFC Apex.
Blanchfield’s opponent this week is No. 8 contender Tracy Cortez. The fourth-ranked contender is 4-1 in her last five contests.
Before her May 31 fight was postponed on the night of the contest, she secured a unanimous decision victory in November of last year against Rose Namajunas (14-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC.) Blanchfield went through training camp and completed all of her obligations leading up to the contest in May, only to see said fight get called off at the last minute.
Expect her to fight with frustration this weekend. In the other corner, Tracy Cortez has gone 4-1 over her past five fights.
Back on June 28, she scored a unanimous decision win versus Viviane Araujo (13-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) after three rounds of action. Prior to her loss against Rose Namajunas in Denver in July of last year, Cortez had won 11 fights consecutively dating back to late 2017. Will she begin another sustained winning streak here?
Rest of the Prelims:
The UFC 322 prelims will also feature these fights:
- A bantamweight contest between Malcolm Wellmaker (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Cody Haddon (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
- a middleweight fight versing Gerald Meerschaert (37-20 MMA, 12-12 UFC) against Kyle Daukaus (16-4, 1 NC MMA, 3-4, 1 NC UFC,)
- a featherweight affair pairing Pat Sabatini (20-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) with Chepe Mariscal (18-6, 1 NC MMA, 5-0 UFC,)
- a strawweight contest between No. 12 contender Angela Hill (18-15 MMA, 13-15 UFC) and Fatima Klein (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC,)
- a middleweight showcase pairing Baisangur Susurkaev (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) against Eric McConico (10-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC,)
- and a lightweight bout versing Viacheslav Borshchev (8-6-1 MMA, 3-5-1 UFC) with Matheus Camilo (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC.)
Which prelims are you looking forward to during UFC 322? Let us know in the comments.
