The 10: Spotlighting August’s Most Intriguing Matchups

This clash of Top 10 strawweights between Dern and Godinez feels like a critical pairing for each women, as both enter off setbacks in their final 2024 appearances.

Dern arrives in Abu Dhabi on a two-fight slide, having fallen to Jessica Andrade at UFC 295 last November before dropping a decision to Amanda Lemos earlier this year at UFC 298. She’d climbed into contention through the first half of 2021, but a 2-4 mark over her last six has dropped the Brazilian jiu jitsu ace to No. 7 in the rankings, and avoiding a third straight loss feels like a must at this point.

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Godinez won four fights last year to start making a real push towards the top of the division, but her momentum was halted by new No. 1 contender Virna Jandiroba earlier this year. That setback has already aged well, and if Godinez can get back on course, the opportunity is there for her to leapfrog Dern in the divisional ranks.

This has the potential to be either a power-shot extravaganza on the feet, a spirited grappling battle on the canvas, or some combination of the two, but no matter how it shakes out, this one will be thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.

Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

Recent title challenger Marlon Vera faces off with former flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo in a fascinating main card matchup in Abu Dhabi.

After a title fight with Sean O’Malley, Vera makes his second start of the year, aiming to cement his standing in the bantamweight ranks. He’s won five of his last seven, but has also dropped two of his last three, having been outhustled by headliner Cory Sandhagen in March 2023, so there is a little bit of pressure on “Chito” to re-affirm his position in the pecking order here.

Figueiredo has shifted his approach a little since moving up to bantamweight, eschewing the “swing for the fences” mentality that produced a pair of title reigns at flyweight in favor of incorporating more grappling into his fights. He out-worked Rob Font in his debut and submitted Cody Garbrandt last time out, and if he adds a third straight win to his resume by beating Vera, “Deus da Guerra” will find himself in the championship mix.

Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Originally scheduled to take place last August, Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov now face off 364 days later in Abu Dhabi.

Sandhagen ran his winning streak to three after staying on the card last year and out-wrestling Font over five rounds, building on quality wins over Vera and Song Yadong beforehand. The former title challenger has teamed up with Trevor Wittman and will be looking to show that he remains both a tier ahead of Nurmagomedov, and very much at the top of the list of contenders in the 135-pound ranks with a win here.

Long heralded as a future contender and potentially a champion, Nurmagomedov now gets the chance to show he’s up to the task by taking a major step up in competition. While he pushed his record to 17-0 with a win over Bekzat Almakhan in March, it wasn’t the performance many expected from the undefeated standout, so all eyes will be on the Octagon this weekend to see if he can rise to the task of taking down Sandhagen.

While nothing is ever set in stone, this feels like it could determine the next title challenger in the bantamweight ranks. With O’Malley set to defend his belt next month against No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, the winner of this one will have the best case of any competitor for a future date with whomever emerges from Noche UFC with the belt around their waist.

UFC on ESPN: Tybura vs. Spivac 2 — Saturday, August 10 (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Youssef Zalal vs. Jarno Errens

We’ve arrived at this month’s “One For Spencer” with this featherweight pairing between Zalal and Errens in Las Vegas.

Zalal ran into some tough competition resulting in a four-fight run without a victory to close out his first stint in the UFC, but he returned to the promotion in March looking much improved while submitting Billy Quarantillo on short notice. Still just 27, the Factory X representative is an excellent grappler with improving finishing instincts, and could be a sneaky name to track in the 145-pound weight class going forward.

After dropping each of his first two outings inside the Octagon, Errens got things moving in the right direction earlier this year with a unanimous decision win over Steve Nguyen. Sometimes folks just need a couple appearances under their belts before they’re able to get fully comfortable inside the UFC cage, especially when they come in with limited experience, as the Dutch featherweight did.

Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac

Tybura and Spivac renew acquaintances in the main event, with the Polish veteran looking for a second straight win — both overall and against Spivac — while “The Polar Bear” is seeking a measure of revenge.

Over the last four years and counting, Tybura has amassed an 8-2 record inside the Octagon that includes wins over Spivac, Alexandr Romanov, and Tai Tuivasa, with his only setbacks coming against streaking contender Alexander Volkov and interim champ Tom Aspinall. The 38-year-old scored a first-round submission win over Tuivasa earlier this year, and can further entrench himself in the Top 10 with another victory later this month.

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Spivac was on a nice little roll heading into his showdown with Ciryl Gane last fall in Paris, having won three straight and six of his previous seven, with a loss to Aspinall on either side of twin three-fight winning streaks the only knock against him. But he faltered against Gane, stopped in the second round after being unable to get the former interim champ to the canvas, and will look to regroup and start rebuilding here.

Tybura won the first fight with a clean sweep of the scorecards, garnering a pair of 30-27 scores and one 29-28, but the pre-COVID bout feels like it happened in another lifetime. Spivac has shown considerable improvements since that first encounter, but “Tybur” has remained durable and dangerous, making this an intriguing rematch to wrap up the second event of the month.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya — Saturday, August 17 (Perth, Australia)

Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos

O’Neill returns to compete in Australia for the first time since signing with the UFC, welcoming Santos to Perth for this tantalizing flyweight title on the UFC 305 prelims.

Winning each of her first four UFC starts put O’Neill on the fast track to contention, but a torn ACL sidelined her for a year, and she’s dropped consecutive outings since. She’s spent her camp in a couple different spots looking to recapture the spark that produced stoppage wins in each of her first three outings and return to being considered part of the bright future in the flyweight division.

Santos makes a hasty return to action after securing a first-round stoppage win over Mariya Agapova in Denver just last month. The Brazilian has earned victories in each of her first three UFC starts to move her record to 8-1 overall, and, at 24 years old, has the potential to join that group of young talents making a push towards the top of the division.

Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates

“The Leech” Li Jingliang returns to action for the first time in nearly two years to square off with surging UFC freshman Carlos Prates in one of the most intriguing low-key fights of the month.

While Li has alternated wins and losses dating all the way back to his August 2019 victory over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, the 36-year-old remains a battle-tested, ultra-experienced competitor in the welterweight ranks. Finally healthy, it will be interesting to see what the traditionally aggressive power hitter brings to the table in this one.

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Prates has quickly established himself as a person of interest in the welterweight division, turning two appearances into two stoppage wins to extend his winning streak to nine overall. The 30-year-old “Nightmare” has a laser of a left hand and could quickly vault himself into the rankings conversation if he were to pick up another victory here.

Fights like this are so fascinating and critical to getting a read on where emerging talents stand in their respective weight classes. We know what it takes to beat Li and what it means if you’re able to do so, and if Prates can do it, he’ll join his teammate Jean Silva at the top of the list of elite freshmen in the UFC.

Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker

Banger Alert! Banger Alert!

Gamrot looks to further cement his standing as one of the top contenders in the lightweight division by venturing down under to square off with Hooker, one of the most consistently entertaining and vicious fighters in the division.

Since dropping a split decision in his promotional debut, “Gamer” has gone 7-1 with wins over Diego Ferreira, Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner, and Rafael Dos Anjos, pushing his record to a staggering 24-2 with one no contest overall. The former KSW two-division champion is an excellent wrestler, and leaned on it to salt away his win over the former champ Dos Anjos at UFC 299 earlier this year.

Hooker has been out of action since his slobberknocker with Jalin Turner at UFC 290 last summer, having suffered a second break to the same arm he broke in that fight just prior to his scheduled bout with King Green last December in Austin. The 34-year-old “Hangman” has earned consecutive victories heading into this one, and is guaranteed excitement every time he crosses the threshold into the Octagon.

Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg

It’s a meeting of contenders in the flyweight division as Kara-France and Erceg clash in the UFC 305 co-main event.

Kara-France returns for the first time since last June, when he dropped a debated decision to Amir Albazi in Las Vegas. A concussion forced him to the sidelines ahead of a scheduled bout last September, but now fully recovered and reinvigorated, the 31-year-old Maori talent aims to remind everyone that he’s a championship threat in the 125-pound ranks here.

Back in May, Erceg entered the final round of his flyweight title fight with Alexandre Pantoja deadlocked on two scorecards, with a tactical choice likely costing him the contest. As much as the result unquestionably stings, the Perth native showed that night that he is one of the best flyweights on the planet, and can further show that with a big win at home in this one.

There is a little uncertainty at the top of the flyweight division at the moment, which ups the ante on this one. A stellar effort on either side could put the victor in the mix for a title eliminator next time out.

Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

Middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis ventures to Perth and puts his belt on the line against Israel Adesanya, who looks to become only the second person to win the same UFC title on three different occasions.

The South African titleholder is now 7-0 in the UFC and riding a nine-fight winning streak overall, with seven of those victories coming inside the distance. While some will question his place atop the division based on his close battle with Sean Strickland in January, let’s not forget how handily he dispatched Robert Whittaker before that to emerge as the No. 1 contender.

Just five months after re-claiming the title and avenging his previous loss to Alex Pereira, Adesanya was unable to contend with Strickland’s approach at UFC 293, dropping the title to the American in an uncharacteristic performance. He’s saying all the right things heading into this one, but how he looks come fight night will tell the real story of whether “The Last Stylebender” is back or not.

Will it be “And Still” or “And New… kind of” when the smoke clears in Perth?