The 10 | Get Ready For A November To Remember Inside The Octagon

You know it’s a loaded month when a Top 5 matchup and potential title eliminator clash is flying under the radar, but such is the case with this weekend’s matchup between Ketlen Vieira and Norma Dumont.

Vieira has been standing on the precipice of a championship opportunity for the last couple years, having worked her way into the upper echelon with wins over former titleholders Miesha Tate and Holly Holm, but each time she’s had the chance to punch her ticket to a title fight, she’s faltered, dropping critical bouts to Raquel Pennington and Kayla Harrison, who each went on to win gold after besting the Brazilian.

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Dumont is a relatively new addition to the championship mix, having earned her place on the heels of an absolute drubbing of Irene Aldana at Noche UFC last year at Sphere that pushed her winning streak to five. She’s 8-1 since dropping her promotional debut with a quality list of vanquished opponents and was originally slated to face Pennington earlier this year before the former champ was forced to withdraw, resulting in Dumont being reassigned here.

There are never any guarantees when it comes to championship opportunities and how things will shake out, nor has there been anything promised to either of these women, but with Harrison and Amanda Nunes feeling destined to fight in the next six-to-nine months, the winner of this one could be next in line to challenge for the title, especially if they can win with style points.

Steve Garcia vs David Onama

Steve Garcia and David Onama clash in a battle of ranked featherweights looking to continue moving forward in the division as they meet in the first main event of the month.

After starting his career with a 1-2 mark in the lightweight division, Garcia dropped to featherweight, dropped Chase Hooper, and hasn’t looked back, stringing together six straight victories heading into the November 1st main event. The laid-back Albuquerque native swept the scorecards against Calvin Kattar last time out but was disappointed his finishing streak came to a halt, so don’t be surprised if he’s chasing a finish a little more aggressively here.

Steve Garcia | Real Recognizes Real

Onama suffered the first loss of his career in a short-notice lightweight bout against Mason Jones that earned him “one to watch” status once he returned to his natural weight class, and since then, the 31-year-old hasn’t disappointed. Currently riding a four-fight winning streak and coming off a win over veteran contender Giga Chikadze, the Factory X man is aiming to improve to 7-1 since his UFC debut and overtake Garcia in the rankings.

This feels like one of those fights that is going to go one of two ways: either someone is getting lit up and laid out early, or they’re battling hard for 25 minutes, and either way, those of us that aren’t in the cage catching punches win. Featherweight is always ultra-competitive, but whichever man emerges with another victory here has a reach chance to fight forward in the division next time out.

UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs Brown — Saturday, November 8 (Las Vegas, NV)

Gabriel Bonfim vs Randy Brown

A week before the welterweight title goes on the line at Madison Square Garden, Gabriel Bonfim and Randy Brown square off in a compelling battle to establish their positions in the title chase heading into 2026.

The 28-year-old Bonfim has been on an upward trajectory for the majority of his UFC career, having posted three straight wins since incurring the lone blemish on his otherwise pristine resume a couple of years back against Nicolas Dalby. After opening the year with a slick second-round submission win over Khaos Williams, the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad pushed his winning streak to three with a split decision win over venerated veteran Stephen Thompson in July.

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It's been more than a decade since Brown earned his spot on the roster through Dana White’s Lookin’ for a Fight, and over the last handful of years, “Rudeboy” has shown he’s one of the most accomplished graduates from any of the UFC’s shoulder programs. Sporting a 14-6 record overall inside the Octagon and an 8-2 mark over his last 10, Brown looks to build on his second-round knockout win over Dalby in April and deliver a similar type of effort to the last time he fought at the UFC APEX and sparked Muslim Salikhov.

A spot in the title conversation isn’t on the table here, but an opportunity to fight one of the established names in the Top 10 certainly feels like a viable option for the winner. This is the precise type of pairing each man needs at this time, and each needs to pass in order to potentially garner a date with someone higher up the food chain next time out.

UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev — Saturday, November 15 (New York, NY)

Erin Blanchfield vs Tracy Cortez

D’you know what’s even better than a Top 10 matchup between ascending talents in the flyweight division? When that pairing is also a rematch from a debated fight, which is the case here as Erin Blanchfield and Tracy Cortez run it back on the UFC 322 prelims.

Blanchfield returns to action for the first time this year after her main event pairing with Maycee Barber at the end of May was scuttled in the minutes before the fighters were set to make the walk to the Octagon. After opening last year with a decision loss to recent title challenger Manon Fiorot, Blanchfield rebounded with a come-from-behind unanimous decision victory over Rose Namajunas in Edmonton to cement her standing as a Top 5 threat in the 125-pound ranks.

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A short-notice loss to Namajunas two summers back halted Cortez’s lengthy winning streak and unbeaten run inside the Octagon, but the Phoenix-based DWCS alum immediately rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Viviane Araujo in June at UFC 317. Now 6-1 in the UFC, including a victory over Jasmine Jasudavicius that has aged nicely, Cortez aims to take another step forward in the divisional ranks with a second straight win.

These two first met in February 2019 under the Invicta FC banner, with Cortez coming away on the favorable side of a split decision verdict that many observers remain split on to this day. Each has only lost once since, and with things at the top of the division slowing for a moment, the timing for the sequel has never been better. 

Sean Brady vs Michael Morales

Banger alert! Sound the klaxons; we’ve got ourselves a banger alert!

Brady has been forecasted to be a contender from the minute he touched down in the UFC and has ascended to No. 2 in the rankings on the strength of a three-fight winning streak capped by a fourth-round submission win over former champ Leon Edwards in March that was incredibly one-sided. The Philadelphia native is 18-1 overall, with his lone loss coming against ex-titleholder Belal Muhammad, and has looked the part of a serious threat over his last three outings since that setback.

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Morales claimed his spot on the roster with a win over Nikolay Veretennikov on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series and has maintained his unbeaten record through his first six UFC appearances to enter this one with a stellar 18-0 mark. After going the distance with Max Griffin and Jake Matthews in consecutive veteran tests, Morales showed his own threatening abilities with back-to-back first-round finishes of Neil Magny and Gilbert Burns.

Which of these two standouts will take another step forward in the title chase, and which will be forced to reset heading into next year?

Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili

Two-time champions share the cage in the first of UFC 322’s twin “Champion vs Champion” clashes as Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight title against former strawweight queen Zhang Weili.

Shevchenko reclaimed her place on the flyweight throne last September with a unanimous decision win over Alexa Grasso to settle their rivalry. Earlier this year, “Bullet” solidified her position with a similar result against Manon Fiorot, giving her eight successful title defenses across her two reigns, adding to her record for the most of any female champion in UFC history.

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The last time Zhang fought in New York City, she trounced Carla Esparza to win the strawweight title for the second time before going on to earn successful title defenses against Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan, and Tatiana Suarez. Having proven her superiority in the 115-pound ranks, the Chinese standout congratulated and challenged Shevchenko after her UFC 315 win and looks to become the second female two-division champion after Amanda Nunes with a win at Madison Square Garden.

We can get into this more as the fight draws closer, but I honestly think this might be the best fight in women’s MMA history when you think about what each woman has accomplished, the depth and breadth of their skills, and the overall success they’ve had. They have a combined 24 wins in 30 UFC appearances, with 19 of those bouts carrying championship stakes and resulting in 16 victories.

This is going to be epic no matter how it plays out. 

Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev

The second of the tandem “Champion vs Champion” clashes at UFC 322 sees new welterweight ruler Jack Della Maddalena defend his title for the first time against longtime lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, as the Russian looks to add his name to the exclusive list of competitors to win UFC gold in two weight classes.

Shuffled into a championship fight with Belal Muhammad in May, Della Maddalena made the most of his opportunity, seizing the title with a unanimous decision win in Montreal that pushed his record to 8-0 in the UFC and extended his winning streak to 18 overall. The Perth man doesn’t wow you with any one skill or attribute, but is so rock solid in every phase, every facet of the game that he’s an absolute menace to contend with inside the Octagon, and his confidence is sure to have only grown since claiming gold as well.

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Following Della Maddalena’s win, Makhachev announced his intention to move up a division to challenge for the lightweight title, having cemented himself as the greatest UFC lightweight champion in history with a record-breaking fourth successful title defense in January at UFC 311. The 34-year-old standout has won 15 straight, leaving him one shy of equalling Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive victories in UFC history, and winning a second title would be an incredible way to equal the mark.

Strange as this may sound, this feels like the fight where folks are going to finally realize just how good Della Maddalena is because it’s already firmly established that Makhachaev is a pantheon-level talent. Skill-wise, there is no questioning that the former lightweight titleholder has the chops to compete with anyone, but it will be interesting to see how the move 15 pounds up the scale impacts things come fight night.

UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker — Saturday, November 22 (Doha, Qatar)

Tagir Ulanbekov vs Kyoji Horiguchi

With the flyweight title back up for grabs in December, Tagir Ulanbekov and Kyoji Horiguchi face off in Qatar, looking to cement where they stand in the talent-rich 125-pound weight class.

Ulanbekov arrives on a four-fight winning streak, having won six of seven in the UFC and 17 of 19 professional appearances. The 34-year-old grappler, who currently sits at No. 12 in the flyweight rankings, has already earned decision wins over Clayton Carpenter and Azat Maksum this year, and a victory over Horiguchi carries the potential to catapult him up the ranks and into a premier pairing to open his 2026 campaign.

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Almost a decade to the day since he last graced the Octagon, Horiguchi returns looking to make a run at the flyweight title he previously challenged for all the way back at UFC 186. The Japanese standout went 7-1 during his first UFC run, with his only loss coming at the buzzer against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in a championship fight that felt a touch too early for Horiguchi at the time. He’s gone 16-3 with one no contest since departing the promotion, including going unbeaten in his last five outings, four of which came back in the flyweight division.

Will Ulanbekov impress and extend his winning streak, or can Horiguchi make an instant case for title contention with an impressive showing to kick off his UFC comeback?

Belal Muhammad vs Ian Machado Garry

Elite welterweights looking to claim their place in the title queue meet in Doha as former champ Belal Muhammad takes on Ian Machado Garry.

Muhammad had his lengthy unbeaten streak and championship reign halted by Della Maddalena in May at UFC 315, but it was a much more competitive bout than people seem to remember. The 37-year-old Chicagoland native rattled off 10 wins and an 11-fight unbeaten streak following his last setback, but likely won’t need nearly as many victories in order to get back into the title mix, especially if he can make a statement in this one.

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Bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten in a short-notice clash with fellow standout Shavkat Rakhmonov last December, Machado Garry rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates in April, in a fight he dominated until the final round, when things got a little bit dicey. “The Future” has always been projected as a championship-caliber competitor, and there would be no better way to affirm that designation than by dispatching the first former titleholder he’s had the opportunity to face.

This is such a fascinating fight because stylistically, they play off each other in interesting ways, as Muhammad is relentless with his pressure and drowns opponents with his pace, while Machado Garry likes to utilize his length, live on the outside, and snipe at oncoming foes. More than usual, this one will come down to who dictates the terms of engagement and figuring out how that shakes out will be absolutely riveting to watch.

Arman Tsarukyan vs Dan Hooker

The final bout of the month is an absolute belter as Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker share the Octagon with five rounds available to them if needed.

Tsarukyan was scheduled to face Makhachev for the lightweight title in January at UFC 311 but suffered an injury the night before weigh-ins and was forced from the contest, making this his first appearance since edging out Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April 2024. The 29-year-old has won four straight and nine of 10 since his debut loss to Makhachev in 2019, with that solitary setback coming in a fight with Mateusz Gamrot that many feel he won.

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This will be Hooker’s first fight since beating Gamrot by split decision in a slobberknocker at UFC 305 in Perth two summers ago, giving him consecutive split decision wins and three straight victories overall. The all-action New Zealander has the kind of pressure style and dangerous weapons that make him a threat against anyone in the division, and a victory over the top-ranked Tsarukyan would be the biggest win of his career.

Nothing is on the books as far as the lightweight title is concerned as we rocket towards the new year, so this is a chance for each of these men to make their case for a championship opportunity. Any remaining questions about where each man stands in the pecking order will be answered in this one, and the potential for it to be a blistering battle to close out the month is exceptionally high.