The UFC has revealed a huge lineup of fights for the second half of 2023. Fight cards for UFC 291 and 292, which will take place in July and August, respectively, have been released, with major headliners for both pay-per-view events.
First off the ranks is UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will headline the event with a show-stopping rematch.
Tony Ferguson’s Return, Title Fights and A Massive Light Heavyweight Debut: UFC 291, UFC 292 Lineups REVEALED
The first fight took place in 2018, and the epic duel saw Dustin Poirier win via fourth-round TKO. While the pair won’t be competing for the lightweight title, there is a different belt on the line: Jorge Masvidal’s vacated “BMF” belt, up for grabs since “Gamebred” retired earlier this year.
Lower down on the main card, former UFC middleweight champion and Israel Adesanya’s arch-nemesis Alex Pereira will make his light heavyweight debut, facing former 205-pound champ Jan Blachowicz.
Pereira surged through the UFC middleweight division, tasting defeat only in his latest outing, when Israel Adesanya managed to secure revenge with a second-round knockout. A victory over Jan Blachowicz would surely signal the opening salvo of yet another title run for “Poatan.”
Blachowicz, too, is looking to take a run at the 205-pound title. A recent title fight saw Blachowicz draw with Magomed Ankalaev, only a year after losing the belt to Glover Teixeira. Teixeira has long been a training partner and cornerman for Alex Pereira, adding plenty of spice to this red-hot light heavyweight event.
Joining them on the main card is perennial fan favorite Tony Ferguson, who will face Bobby Green, and Paulo Costa opposite Ikram Aliskerov.
Ferguson is riding a five-fight losing streak, and has endured recent legal troubles, including a DUI arrest earlier this month. Bobby Green, too, has not won in three fights, although his latest outing was declared no contest following a vicious clash of heads with Jared Gordon.
An equally thrilling fight card is promised for the following month, when the UFC returns to Boston, Massachusetts. The headline fight for this event, as promised by last month’s bantamweight title bout, is Sean O’Malley’s long-awaited title challenge against Aljamain Sterling.
The pair stood face-to-face in the Octagon following Sterling’s latest title defense against Henry Cejudo, and O’Malley has long threatened to come for the 135-pound strap.
Co-headlining the event will be Zhang Weili defending the strawweight title against Amanda Lemos. The fight will mark Weili’s first title defense since recapturing the belt against Carla Esparza late last year.
