Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.
All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.
Rising middleweight contenders Phil Hawes and Roman Dolidze are set to battle.
Hawes (12-3) and Dolidze (10-1) will fight at the UFC’s upcoming Oct. 29 event, with a location still to be formalized. The bout was first reported by Setanta Sports.
This is the second outing of 2022 for both fighters, both coming off of victories.
Hawes improved to 4-1 in the UFC this past June with a second-round TKO of Deron Winn. After taking a winding road to the octagon that included a brief appearance on The Ultimate Fighter and two fights on Dana White‘s Contender Series, Hawes has emerged as one to watch at 185 pounds with notable wins over Winn, Kyle Daukaus, and Nassourdine Imavov, the latter of whom is currently No. 14 in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings.
Dolidze also owns a 4-1 mark in the UFC after recording back-to-back wins over Daukaus and Laureano Staropoli. The Georgian fighter defeated Daukaus by knockout in just 73 seconds this past June.
A flyweight bout has been set for Oct. 29 as Kleydson Rodrigues welcomes Contender Series recent signing Vinicius Salvador to the octagon.
Rodrigues (7-2), himself a 2021 Contender Series signing, fell short in his UFC debut this past May, dropping a split decision to CJ Vergara at UFC 274. The decision was contested by the media according to MMA Decisions, with only one out of 15 scores in favor of Vergara, but the official result saw Rodrigues’ six-fight win streak snapped.
Salvadore (14-4) enters his UFC debut having won four straight fights and five of his past six. He finished Shannon Ross via strikes in the second round of his Contender Series tryout on Aug. 2 and was signed along with the rest of the winners from an action-packed episode.
The matchup was first reported by Combate.
UFC 280 has added a middleweight bout to the lineup.
Armen Petrosyan (7-2) fights AJ Dobson (6-1, 1 NC) at the Oct. 22 pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi. The bout was first announced by Dobson’s management via Twitter. Both fighters were signed off of the Contender Series in 2021.
Petrosyan was successful in his UFC debut this past February, earning a hotly contested split decision win over Gregory Rodrigues. He next fought Caio Borralho at UFC Vegas 58, where he lost by unanimous decision.
Dobson seeks his first UFC victory. After going unbeaten in his first seven pro bouts, including a first-round submission of Hashem Arkhagha that earned him a contract on the Contender Series, Dobson lost by unanimous decision to Jacob Malkoun at UFC 271 this past February at UFC 271.
Undefeated flyweight Tatsuro Taira has his second UFC assignment.
Taira (11-0) is set to fight CJ Vergara (10-3-1) at an upcoming Oct. 15 event, with a location still to be formalized. The bout was first announced by Taira’s management via Twitter.
Just 22 years old, Taira has has amassed an impressive pro record since debuting in 2018 with eight finishes in his 11 wins. He made a successful UFC debut this past May, defeating Carlos Candelario by unanimous decision.
Vergara also seeks a second UFC win after defeating Kleydson Rodrigues by a narrow split call at UFC 274 this past May. Former Fury Fighting Championship flyweight champion has won six of seven fights.
Ramona Pascual has another chance to earn that elusive UFC win.
Pascual (6-4) fights UFC newcomer Tamires Vidal (6-1) in a bantamweight bout at an upcoming event set for Nov. 5, with a location still to be formalized. The matchup was first reported by MMA Junkie.
This will be the third octagon appearance for Pascual, who competed at 145 pounds in her past two outings. She returns to the bantamweight division after unanimous decision losses to Joselyne Edwards and Josiane Nunes earlier this year.
Vidal joins the UFC with a 5-fight winning streak. In her most recent outing at a Legacy Fighting Alliance event this past March, Vidal defeated Queila Braga by second-round submission via heel hook.
A promising contest for featherweight has been lost at a UFC event.
This past weekend, Lando Vannata announced via Instagram that an injury has forced him out of his Sept. 17 UFC Vegas 60 encounter opposite Andre Fili. Vannata didn’t specify the extent of his injury.
This was to be the second fight of 2022 for Vannata, who has alternated wins and losses in his past six outings. He is 1-1 since moving down to featherweight, losing by first-round submission to Charles Jourdain this past April after defeating Mike Grundy by split decision in May 2021. “Groovy” holds one of the odder records in UFC history at 4-6-2.
It is not yet known if a the bout will be rescheduled, if a new opponent will be found to fight Fili on Sept. 17, or if Fili will have to wait for a new booking entirely.
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