UFC Preview: 50 Intriguing Second Quarter Fights

Looking ahead to the next three months inside the Octagon and the compelling matchups headed our way

So earlier in the week, I looked back at the first three months inside the Octagon and dropped my 40 favourite performances thus far.

At the end of said post, I stated that I would be back later in the week to discuss a bunch of Q2 fights that excite and intrigue me, and so here we are.

This collection — like that collection — is tailored to my tastes and my wants, and as such, it’s probably going to feature a bunch of fights some folks don’t care about or maybe even a couple fighters you’ve never heard of before, and that’s fine… it’s my list.

Not all of these bouts are official as of yet — some are in the works, some are confirmed, but as always, please remember: cards subject to change.

Let’s get into it.

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April

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung: Volkanovski might be the most complete (and completely under-appreciated) champion in the UFC at the moment and every chance he gets to prove that and distance himself from the whole “… but he lost the second fight with Max” talk is terrific to me.

Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan: I’m so intrigued to see how this rematch plays out because I do think Sterling will be even better than he was in the first outing, and Yan remains an absolute menace.

Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev: the Chimaev hype was too much for me out of the gate, but he’s continued to prove he’s quality, and this is another massive step up in competition. If he smashes Burns, he’s fighting for gold in the second half of the year.

Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres: critical fight for both women, as Dern is coming off her second career loss where the holes in her game where thrust into the spotlight, while Torres has put together three straight wins since her rugged four-fight stretch championship-caliber talent.

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dricus du Plessis: has Gastelum just been enduring his own version of the gnarly stretch Torres went through or is he really fading fast? And is du Plessis someone with genuine upside at ‘85 or just a knockout artist with a limited ceiling? I crave clarity regarding these questions.

Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington: absolutely essential fight for Ladd in so many ways, and Pennington is the kind of consummate pro that is going to make her pay if she’s not fully dialled in for this one.

Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks: Garry eventually got the dynamic finish in his debut, but it wasn’t without some rough patches, and Weeks gave Bryan Barberena fits on short notice, so this could be more competitive than people anticipate.

Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen: Pichel is one of those unsung, better-than-you recognize dudes at lightweight and if he can stop Madsen’s unbeaten run, he’ll have to be recognized.

Piera Rodriguez vs. Kay Hansen: curious to see how Hansen looks back down at strawweight after an uneven return in January up a division. Rodriguez is a DWCS grad with a little hype and an aggressive style, so it should be fun.

Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad: these two are a combined 20-3 with one No Contest since their first meeting, and now they’re fighting for top spot on the list of contenders in the welterweight division. Each guy is overdue for a legit main event assignment and it’s nice to see them get it here.

Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz: last time out, people did the whole “I totally forgot about Andre Muniz” thing and my head nearly exploded so this is me reminding all of you reading this that Muniz is a certified bad ass on the ground with back-to-back-to-back submission finishes.

Pat Sabatini vs. T.J. Laramie: Sabatini is one of those low-key dudes that has quietly put together a three-fight winning streak and is creeping closer to cracking the Top 15. This fight was more interesting when it was against Gavin Tucker, but another chance to see the former CFFC champ do his thing is always welcomed.

Miguel Baeza vs. Andre Fialho: there is no way this isn’t exciting.

Amanda Lemos vs. Jessica Andrade: Lemos had a breakout year in 2021 and Andrade is moving back down to strawweight, where she previously held the title. It was already the most interesting collection of Top 15 talents on the women’s side of the roster and it just got even more intriguing.

Lando Vannata vs. Charles Jourdain: independent of each other, they have a history of putting on exciting fights, so what could possibly prevent this from being all kinds of fun when they get locked into the Octagon with one another midway through the month? And no, I’m not worried about jinxing it.

Manel Kape vs. Sumudaerji: so Kape was flexing his Twitter fingers last weekend, giving his thoughts on how the flyweight division should be matched up going forward, and, as you’d expect, he had himself in a No. 1 contender bout… after two wins… over unranked opponents… even though he’s got “The Tibetan Eagle” on his dance card in April.

Tyson Pedro vs. Ike Villanueva: welcome back, Tyson! It’s been a long time since we saw Tai Tuivasa’s brother-in-law, but he’s still only 30, has a couple good wins on his resume from before his extended injury hiatus, and is still an intriguing light heavyweight to me,

Clay Guida vs. Claudio Puelles: a quality “veteran vs. prospect” pairing where we’re guaranteed to get Guida Slaps, Guida Burps, and at least one instance of Puelles chasing a kneebar. What more could you ask for in a fight?

Montana De La Rosa vs. Maycee Barber: you’re definitely going to think I’m lying, but this is my favourite fight on this list so far because I think De La Rosa has been steadily improving, and Barber always, perpetually has a lot to prove.

Tanner Boser vs. Alexander Romanov: Boser has a ton of experience for a 30-year-old and an IDGAF attitude, while Romanov is undefeated and brandishes good wrestling and weird chokes. Winner gets a Top 15 dance partner next time out, so yeah, I’m paying attention.

Rob Font vs. Marlon Vera: this is the one where we find out if all the people that talk about Vera like he’s one of the absolute best bantamweights on the planet (including Vera himself) are right or if he just gets that “We All Love Him” bump, because Font ain’t no joke.

Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Candelario: do you honestly think I’m not jazzed about an undefeated 22-year-old with a history of finishing fights making his debut in the UFC?

Darren Elkins vs. Tristan Connelly: it’s a Darren Elkins fight… of course, I’m excited.

Jessica Penne vs. Luana Pinheiro: we didn’t make a big enough deal of Penne coming back and winning two fights last year after four years on the sidelines, but we should ahead of this fight, which will also tell us where the unbeaten Pinheiro fits in the division at the moment.

Jared Grodon vs. Grant Dawson: Gordon has won three straight, Dawson is unbeaten in nine; something’s gotta give.

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May

Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje: no explanation required.

Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza: see above.

Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson: I think Ferguson is cooked, and Chandler is a miserable matchup for someone that might cooked, but he’s also the perfect dance partner for someone looking to show they’re not cooked, youknowwhatimean?

Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont: a non-title featherweight fight? Between two women best suited to competing at featherweight? (faints)

Randy Brown vs. Khaos Williams: Brown is 7-3 in his last 10, with two of those losses coming to April headliners Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad. Williams generally lives up to his name. This should be outstanding fun no matter where it falls on the UFC 274 fight card.

Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell: if you think Royval doesn’t want to make a statement after seeing a guy he’s already submitted hustle to the top of the list of potential title challengers in the flyweight division (Kai Kara-France), then you’re crazy. Schnell is a tough out and this should be a terrific, scramble-filled fight.

Ariane Carnelossi vs. Loopy Godinez: similarly aged prospects, both coming off a series of solid performances, meeting to see which one takes another step forward in the strawweight division? You had to know I was going to include this fight.

Tracy Cortez vs. Melissa Gatto: this is wonderful “let’s find out what we have in each of these fighters” matchmaking because Cortez has been good, but not great, while Gatto looked sharp in her debut. Put them together, see who emerges victorious, and give her a little push in the flyweight division.

Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic: the former champ looks to bounce back against a talented contender who would really benefit from an exciting victory. It’s not quite a “winner has next” situation because I don’t know that you need to hustle Blachowicz right back into a title fight, it’s certainly a key matchup at the top of the division.

Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee: Lee has earned back-to-back quality wins, but has been passed by in the flyweight pecking order, while Araujo feels poised to inherit the “best fighter that isn’t an actual title contender” position from Joanne Wood. Quality fight in a compelling, active division.

Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka: it’s Davey Grant and Louis Smolka — what more do you need?

Ryan Spann vs. Ion Cutelaba: I’m really curious to see if Cutelaba is actually becoming something more than a physical brute, while Spann perpetually feels like he’s consecutive strong efforts away from being a contender. This one probably doesn’t get out of the first round.

Katlyn Chookagian vs. Amanda Ribas: Chookagian doesn’t lose to scrubs, so if Ribas can get the job done here, she could put herself in the mix at flyweight. I don’t know if this is a permanent move or a reaction to losing her previously scheduled bout with Michelle Waterson, but either way, this one is super-interesting to me.

Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento: Hadley carries a ton of promise and hype with him into his debut, and Nascimento is no joke. This is a terrific, immediate litmus test for the undefeated British flyweight.

Ben Rothwell vs. Alexander Gustafsson: the idea of Gustafsson coming back and competing at heavyweight is genuinely fascinating, but it didn’t go so well last time, and while Rothwell isn’t Fabricio Werdum, he’s still a capable, experienced heavyweight that could definitely had “The Mauler” a fourth straight loss.

Ketlen Vieira vs. Holly Holm: the winner of this gets the winner of Pena-Nunes II early next year.

Jailton Almeida vs. Maxim Grishin: Almeida looked so dominant in his debut win over Danilo Marques that he’s getting the “beat this other veteran right quick before we hustle you up the rankings” treatment with a date opposite Grishin, who out-savvied William Knight earlier this year in a similar assignment.

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Michel Pereira: if anyone can draw the wildness out of Pereira again, it’s Ponzinibbio, who went 1-2 in his return to action last year and is looking to show he’s still a Top 15 guy in the welterweight division.

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June

Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev: I don’t think we can be friends if this fight doesn’t make you giddy. Ige is the perfect veteran test for Evloev at this point, and if the Russian is victorious, I want to see him in there with someone like Calvin Kattar next. Yes, I’m serious.

Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jeff Molina: If “El Jefe” is fighting, I’m paying attention. Molina has a bright future in the flyweight division.

Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka: the run Teixeira is one right now is simply amazing, but Prochazka has looked like an absolute force through his first two fights. Does the veteran remain atop the division by turning back the explosive challenger or will “Denisa” dispatch the Brazilian and begin a reign of terror?

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos: can anyone push Shevhcenko? Santos will be a sizeable underdog — bigger than she should be, probably — but the way Shevchenko has looked lately, it makes a lot of sense.

Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori: I love this fight from a “this will be fun to watch” position, but think it’s dumb from a divisional standpoint, but my viewing interest trumps my booking thoughts. I’ll surely expound on this much closer to the fight.

Jinh Yu Frey vs. Vanessa Demopoulos: Frey has put together a couple victories and seems more settled into life in the UFC strawweight division, while Demopoulos is looking to follow up on a first-round submission win and mini-breakout effort. Should be a competitive scrap between two former top-tier Triple A champs.

Tim Elliot vs. Amir Albazi: Elliott has become the trash-talking, admit-to-cheating, veteran target of all callouts, while Albazi is 14-1 overall, 2-0 in the UFC, and looking to climb the ladder at his expense. There is no way this isn’t entertaining.