Fights on Tap: Shevchenko vs. Grasso among 26 new UFC bouts
Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
In its return to Brazil, the UFC gave us a great pay-per-view with UFC 283 on Saturday. Jamahal Hill became the first Contender Series alum to win a UFC championship after defeating Glover Teixeira. Brandon Moreno ended his rivalry with Deiveson Figueiredo by third-round TKO, courtesy of an eye-shutting left hand. The Bonfim brothers — Gabriel and Ismael — announced their arrival to the UFC with stunning finishes of Mounir Lazzez and Terrance McKinney. And we saw the end of two legendary careers after Teixeira and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua retired. Now, we have a brief break ahead of us, so let’s take a look at what we have on the schedule.
The UFC either announced or finalized 26 fights this week, and a reigning champion returns for her next challenger.
Valentina Shevchenko is set for her eighth defense as the UFC flyweight champion shares the Octagon with Alexa Grasso at UFC 285, the upcoming pay-per-view scheduled for March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The ‘Bullet’ faced some adversity in her most recent defense, eking out a split decision against Taila Santos at UFC 275 this past June. For the first time in her reign, Shevchenko was truly tested, but she turned the tide in the final rounds and held onto her championship. As for Grasso, she rattled off four consecutive wins over Ji Yeon Kim, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Viviane Araújo en route to her first UFC championship opportunity.
UFC 284 — February 11
Junior Tafa vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta — heavyweight
UFC 285 — March 4
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Alexa Grasso — women’s flyweight
First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
UFC Fight Night — March 11
Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili — bantamweight
First rep. by Adam Hill of Las Vegas Review-Journal
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Jonathan Martinez — bantamweight
First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
UFC 286 — March 18
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho — flyweight
First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN
Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani — featherweight
First rep. by Alex Behunin of MMA Mania
Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Duško Todorović — middleweight
First rep. by Gradske Info
Sam Patterson vs. Yanal Ashmoz — lightweight
First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
UFC 287 — April 8
Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Luana Pinheiro — women’s strawweight
First rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Nikolas Motta — lightweight
First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Christian Rodriguez — bantamweight
First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
Steve Garcia Jr. vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke — featherweight
First rep. by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting
UFC Fight Night — April 15
Bruna Brasil vs. Denise Gomes — women’s strawweight
First rep. by Dama de Ferro MMA
Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier — heavyweight
First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
TJ Brown vs. Bill Algeo — featherweight
First rep. by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting
Dustin Jacoby vs. Azamat Murzakanov — light heavyweight
First rep. by Matthew Wells and Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Edson Barboza vs. Billy Quarantillo — featherweight
First rep. by Quarantillo on OnlyFans
Pedro Munhoz vs. Chris Gutierrez — bantamweight
First rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes
Piera Rodríguez vs. Gillian Robertson — women’s strawweight
First rep. by David Van Auken of Fight Bananas
Lando Vannata vs. Daniel Zellhuber — lightweight
First rep. by Club De Las MMA
Batgerel Danaa vs. Brady Hiestand — bantamweight
First rep. by Iridium Sports Agency
UFC Fight Night — April 22
Karol Rosa vs. Norma Dumont — women’s featherweight
First rep. by Diego Ribas of Ag Fight
Iasmin Lucindo vs. Melissa Martinez — women’s strawweight
First rep. by MMA Melotto
Francis Marshall vs. William Gomis — featherweight
First rep. by La Sueur
Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon — lightweight
First rep. by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie
Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simón — bantamweight
First rep. by Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator 290 — February 4
Neiman Gracie vs. Dante Schiro — welterweight
First rep. by John Morgan of The Underground
Bellator 292 — March 10
Keri Taylor-Melendez vs. Bruna Ellen — women’s flyweight
First rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie
Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell — light heavyweight
Leandro Higo vs. James Gallagher — bantamweight
Laird Anderson vs. Rogelio Luna — featherweight
Dupree Stewart vs. Demetri Georgiades — welterweight
Bellator Paris — May 12
Douglas Lima vs. Costello van Steenis — middleweight
Jose Augusto vs. Simon Biyong — light heavyweight
Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights:
PFL Challenger Series Week 5 — February 24
Chelsea Hackett vs. Desiree Yanez — women’s flyweight
Kaytlin Neil vs. Griet Eeckhout — women’s flyweight
Shanna Young vs. Sandra Lavado — women’s flyweight
Helen Peralta vs. Lisa Mauldin — women’s flyweight
PFL Challenger Series Week 6 — March 3
Brahyan Zurcher vs. David Evans — featherweight
Nate Kelly vs. Zachary Hicks — featherweight
Ago Huskić vs. Gabriel Braga — featherweight
Vikas Singh Ruhil vs. Igeu Kabusa — featherweight
Announced Cage Warriors fights:
Cage Warriors 150 — March 17
Harry Hardwick vs. Shoaib Yousaf — featherweight
Omran Chaaban vs. Mush Aslani — welterweight
Nik Bagley vs. Wesley Machado — featherweight
Cage Warriors 152 — April 15
Chris Bungard vs. Gavin Hughes — lightweight
Cage Warriors 153 — April 29
Rhys McKee vs. Jimmy Wallhead — welterweight
Ryan Shelley vs. Tobias Harila — featherweight
James Sheehan vs. Oban Elliott — welterweight
Announced KSW fights:
KSW 79 — February 25
Arek Wrzosek vs. Tomáš Možný — heavyweight
Daniel Omielańczuk vs. Viktor Pešta — heavyweight
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)