After moving up to 205 pounds, the former UFC middleweight champion has cemented himself as the premier light heavyweight in the world, and he’s already completed a hat-trick of title defences.
“Poatan” has the chance to take that tally to four title defences within the span of 12 months when he faces dangerous Russian contender Ankalaev in the headline bout in Vegas.
The co-main event should produce plenty of fireworks, as former UFC interim lightweight champion and ex-BMF champion Justin Gaethje takes on short-notice opponent Rafael Fiziev, who agreed to step in on just two weeks’ notice to replace the injured Dan Hooker.
Also on the card is a pivotal fight for rival lightweights Jalin Turner and Ignacio Bahamondes, with the former looking to defend his spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings, while the latter plans to defeat him and take his place in the UFC’s top 15 at 155 pounds.
Elsewhere, Cage Warriors returns to action in Italy, with the promotion’s bantamweight and middleweight titles on the line in Rome, while OKTAGON MMA heads to Stuttgart, Germany looking to crown a new heavyweight champion, as former heavyweight title challenger Lazar Todev faces current light heavyweight champ Will Fleury in an explosive battle for the vacant belt.
On The RDX Sports Podcast this week…
On this week’s episode of the RDX Sports Podcast, editor-in-chief Simon Head looks ahead to the fight card as he gives his fight week thoughts on the big matchups in Sin City.
Simon also looks ahead to the two big European shows set to kick off a packed Saturday night of fights, with Cage Warriors 183 and OKTAGON 68 coming live from Rome and Stuttgart, respectively.
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