UFC October is stacked
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are in for a treat in October, with the UFC set to stage four eye-catching events during the month.
They are bookended by two stellar cards in the United States and United Arab Emirates, each of which will trigger a wave of activity on digital sportsbooks.
Reputable California online gambling platforms will be inundated with wagers, particularly when Los Angeles-born fighter Ozzy Diaz enters the Octagon.
His middleweight clash with Ateba Gautier is one of 22 fights confirmed for UFC 320 and UFC 321 on October 4 and October 25 respectively. Read on as we preview the upcoming events.
UFC 320 – Las Vegas – October 4
- Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira – light heavyweight
- Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen – bantamweight
- Jiri Prochazka vs Khalil Rountree Jr – light heavyweight
- Josh Emmett vs Youssef Zalal – featherweight
- Abus Magomedov vs Joe Pyfer – middleweight
- Ateba Gautier vs Ozzy Diaz – middleweight
- Edmen Shahbazyan vs Andre Muniz – middleweight
- Chris Gutierrez vs Farid Basharat – bantamweight
- Macy Chiasson vs Yana Santos – women’s bantamweight
- Patchy Mix vs Jakub Wiklacz – bantamweights
- Veronica Hardy vs Brogan Walker – women’s flyweight
October starts with a bang in Las Vegas as the UFC delivers the highly anticipated light heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
Ankalaev upset the odds to win the title by unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 313 and will be eager to prove the result was no fluke.
The Russian put his opponent on the back foot for the majority of the bout to secure a deserved 48-47 48-47 49-46 victory on the judges’ scorecards.
However, Pereira will likely have learned plenty from that defeat and could be a good bet to gain his revenge to set up a thrilling trilogy contest further down the line.
The co-main event features Merab Dvalishvili defending his bantamweight title against Cory Sandhagen in a classic match-up of different styles.
Jiri Prochazka’s light heavyweight clash with Khalil Rountree Jr is another bout which could provide plenty of fireworks on a stellar card in Las Vegas.
UFC 321 – Abu Dhabi – October 25
- Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane – heavyweight
- Virna Jandiroba vs Mackenzie Dern – women’s strawweight
- Alexander Volkov vs Jailton Almeida – heavyweight
- Aleksandar Rakic vs Azamat Murzakanov – light heavyweight
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs Chris Barnett – heavyweight
- Ikram Aliskerov vs Park Jun-yong – middleweight
- Azat Maksum vs Mitch Raposo – flyweight
- Jaqueline Amorim vs Mizuki Inoue – women’s strawweight
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs Matheus Camilo – lightweight
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs Mario Bautista – bantamweight
- Mateusz Rebecki vs Ludovit Klein – lightweight
Tom Aspinall will defend the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in Abu Dhabi on October 25.
Aspinall was upgraded to undisputed heavyweight champion in June when reigning champion Jon Jones decided to retire rather than fight him.
Gane is hoping it will be third time lucky in his bid to win the title having previously come up short against Francis Ngannou (2022) and Jones (2023).
The 35-year-old’s ground game was exposed by Jones in their meeting, but his explosive striking power and speedy footwork could cause Aspinall problems.
The co-main event features Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern in a rematch for Zhang Weili’s vacated women’s strawweight belt.
The supporting card is packed with other blockbuster contests which could have a significant impact on the rankings in their respective divisions.
