Fight Coverage
The 10 | The Summer Continues To Heat Up Inside The Octagon
Jumping Into The July Slate, Including A Hometown Farewell For ‘The Diamond’
After closing out June in Las Vegas, the Octagon works its way east in this month, touching down in Nashville following the Fourth of July before heading south (and a little west) to New Orleans, and then closing out the schedule with a return to Abu Dhabi for a UFC on ABC event headlined by a fascinating middleweight tilt.
This month is littered with intriguing, all-action contests that are sure to be entertaining and likely to answer any lingering questions that remain about their combatants, so let’s dive in to the collection of contests that make up this month’s edition of The 10.
UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Teixeira — Saturday, July 12 (Nashville, TN)
Nate Landwehr vs. Morgan Charriere
Let’s kick things off with this guaranteed chaos festival.
“Nate the Train” has been in the UFC for nine fights and each of those nine fights have been thoroughly entertaining, regardless of whether they lasted 56 seconds or 15 minutes. He’s gone 5-4 thus far, earning four post-fight bonuses along the way, and now gets the opportunity to compete in his home state.
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Charriere has alternated wins and losses through his first four trips into the Octagon, entering this clash with Landwehr having most recently landed on the wrong side of things in a bout opposite Nathaniel Wood. The 29-year-old French featherweight has earned 15 of his 20 victories inside the distance, including each of his two UFC wins, and will be seeking a return to that finishing form here.
Individual, Landwehr and Charriere are each aggressive, action-oriented competitors, so the likelihood that pairing them together produces fireworks is high. Add in that the partisan crowd are going to be in full throat from the jump, spurring these two on, and it’s a recipe for non-stop excitement from the outset.
Stephen Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim
It's a classic “Veteran vs. Prospect” pairing in the welterweight division as former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson takes on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduate Gabriel Bonfim.
Thompson heads to “Music City” looking to halt a two-fight slide, having most recently been stopped by Joaquin Buckley last October at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. A divisional fixture for more than a dozen years, the 42-year-old has dropped consecutive contests and lost four of his last five, though each of those setbacks came against Top 10 talents, with a stoppage win over Kevin Holland sandwiched in between.
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A member of the DWCS Class of ’22, Bonfim has gone 4-1 to begin his UFC tenure, pushing his record to 17-1 overall in the process. After rebounding from his first professional loss with a unanimous decision win over the always game Ange Loosa in Denver last summer, the 27-year-old Brazilian kicked off his 2025 campaign with a bonus-winning submission win over Khaos Williams, putting “The Oxfighter” to sleep with a second-round D’Arce choke.
Matchups like this are not only commonplace in the sport, but crucial for each competitor here.
Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira
Heavyweights headline the UFC’s return to Nashville as knockout king Derrick Lewis faces off with promising sophomore Tallison Teixeira.
Lewis competes for the first time since halting the ascent of another Brazilian, Rodrigo Nascimento, last May in St. Louis, a finish that put him back on the winning track. Medical issues post-weigh-ins forced him out of his bout with Jhonata Diniz last November in Edmonton, resulting in the longest stretch between appearances in his UFC career.
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Teixeira claimed his place on the roster with a first-round stoppage win over Arthur Lopes last season on Dana White’s Contender Series, and then made a splash in his promotional debut earlier this year at UFC 312, running through Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds. He’s finished all eight of his professional appearances inside the distance, having yet to venture beyond the first round.
Will “The Black Beast” turn aside another young heavyweight or can the 25-year-old Teixeira catapult himself into the thick of the chase in the big boy division by besting its longest tenured member?
UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier — Saturday, July 19 (New Orleans, LA)
Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira
Top 15 bantamweights face off here as Kyler Phillips and Vinicius Oliveira share the Octagon in New Orleans.
The 30-year-old Phillips has been a tantalizing talent throughout his eight-fight UFC run, offering flashes of elite upside in registering six victories, including a unanimous decision win over Song Yadong, only to falter right when his momentum is greatest. Such was the case in his most recent outing, where he carried a three-fight winning streak into a bout with Rob Font where he started well, but eventually dropped a decision to the more experienced veteran.
“Lok Dog” had a tremendous rookie campaign in 2024, despite making just two starts. In his debut, the DWCS grad posted one of the most memorable finishes of the year, flying through the air to knock out Benardo Sopaj before out-hustling Top 15 mainstay Ricky Simon three months later. He kicked off his sophomore season with a unanimous decision win over Said Nurmagomedov on February 1, and aims to maintain his winning ways here.
Bantamweight is always flush with talent and the competition for a place in the rankings is always fierce, which ratchets up the importance of a matchup like this one. While both men carry a number next to their name heading into things, the proliferation of bouts that always transpire in the 135-pound ranks means there is a real possibility that each is fighting to hold onto their place in the hierarchy.
Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull
Battle-tested veterans clash in “The Big Easy” as Dan Ige faces off with Patricio Pitbull.
One of the patron saints of the “their record doesn’t do them justice” society, Ige heads into his second appearance of the year off a third-round stoppage win over streaking Contender Series graduate Sean Woodson. The Xtreme Couture representative remains an “anyone, anywhere, any time” ambassador, and continues to swim in the deep end of the talent pool as he’s done throughout the majority of his UFC career.
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Following an extensive career thriving beyond the Octagon walls, Pitbull made his UFC debut earlier this year, landing on the wrong side of things in a clash with former interim champ Yair Rodriguez. It was his third loss in his last four fights following a stretch where he went 10-1 over his previous 11 outings, so it will be interesting to see if he’s able to bounce back against the dangerous and durable Hawaiian in this one.
Can Ige collect his second straight victory and further solidify his place in the Top 15 or will the Brazilian standout rebound and collect his first UFC victory?
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier meet for the third time in the UFC 318 main event with the BMF title hanging in the balance.
Holloway claimed the belt with his legendary showing at UFC 300 last April, battering Justin Gaethje before calling him to the center of the Octagon and leaving him laying in a heap just before the final horn. Six months later, “Blessed” came up short in his bid to re-claim the featherweight title, suffering the first knockout loss of his career against Ilia Topuria.
Making the walk for the final time in his illustrious career, Poirier competes in his home state for just the second time in his UFC career and first time in a touch over a decade. “The Diamond” hasn’t fought since his lightweight title loss to Islam Makhachev last June, but saddles up for one more ride here against a very familiar opponent.
Holloway made his promotional debut opposite Poirier at UFC 143, replacing Ricardo Lamas and losing by first-round submission. The two faced off for a second time seven years later at UFC 236 in a battle for the interim lightweight title, with Poirier again emerging triumphant. Will he make it three straight against the Hawaiian or will the BMF champ spoil the Louisiana native’s swan song?
UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. De Ridder — Saturday, July 26 (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazan Temirov
Promising flyweights cross paths here as Asu Almabayev and Ramazan Temirov share the Octagon in Abu Dhabi.
The 31-year-old Almabayev looks to get things moving in the right direction again in his second appearance of the year after being forced to retire midway through the third round of his main event pairing with Manel Kape in March. Prior to that setback, the native of Kazakhstan had registered 17 consecutive wins, including victories in each of his first four UFC appearances.
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Temirov carries an 11-fight winning streak into his second start of the year and third UFC bout in 10 months. After dispatching CJ Vergara in the first round in his promotional debut, “Temurlan” collected a hard-earned decision win over veteran Charles Johnson to begin his 2025 campaign.
Both men currently reside in the Top 15 of the 125-pound rankings, with Almabayev stationed at No. 8 and Temirov sitting five places behind him. Following a busy June in the division, this is the first critical matchup in the flyweight division this month, and one that will have immediate ramifications on how things line up in Top 10 as the second half of the year gets underway in earnest.
Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee
Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan looks to further bolster his case for another championship opportunity, while the ascending Marcus McGhee aims to thrust himself into the title conversation as the two face off here.
Yan posted a pair of victories in 2024 to re-affirm his standing as an elite talent in the division he once ruled, besting both Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo on the scorecards. While he went just 1-4 over a five-fight stretch encompassing 2021-2023, the specific results do not reflect the full context and competitiveness of those bouts, with his most recent outings serving to silence any questions about his enduring talents and ability to compete with the best the division has to offer.
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McGhee has been one of the cooler stories of the last couple years in the UFC: a late arrival to the big stage that has posted four straight victories to force his way in the Top 15 in one of the most competitive weight classes in the sport. Last time out, the 35-year-old “Maniac” out-hustled Jonathan Martinez at UFC 309 in New York City.
This is a fascinating matchup on multiple levels, not the least of which is the inverse risk-reward tradeoff at play between the two men. Bantamweight is a constant battle for position in the pecking order, and how this one plays out will have an undeniable impact on the title picture as the fall schedule starts to take shape.
Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico
Movsar Evloev puts his unbeaten record on the line as he welcomes Aaron Pico to the UFC for the first time.
The 31-year-old Russian has won each of his first 19 professional appearances, with the last nine of those victories coming inside the Octagon. Last year, Evloev posted decision wins over Arnold Allen and Aljamain Sterling in January and December, respectively, elevating himself to No. 4 in the divisional ranks in the process.
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One of the most highly regarded prospects to ever enter the sport, the now 28-year-old Pico touches down in the UFC on a three-fight winning streak and brandishing a 13-4 record overall. After starting his career with a 4-3 mark, the Brandon Gibson-trained standout is 9-1 over his last 10 appearances, with his only setback coming by injury in a bout with UFC veteran Jeremy Kennedy.
It’s been a rough year for Bellator standouts migrating to the UFC, as both Pitbull and Patchy Mix landed on the wrong side of things in their debut treks into the Octagon, so it will be interesting to see how Pico manages here. A strong performance from either man could very well vault them into a championship opportunity, so expect both to be in peak form for this five-round co-main event.
Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder
Former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker and ascending Dutchman Reinier de Ridder close out the month in the main event of the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker fights at Etihad Arena for the second consecutive fight and makes his third straight start in the MENA region, looking to replicate the performance he turned in two fights back against Ikram Aliskerov. “The Reaper” remains a mainstay in the upper echelon of talent in the 185-pound weight class, facing a ranked opponent for the 13th time in his last 14 appearances, with last year’s short-notice bout with Aliskerov standing as the only outlier.
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After beginning his UFC tenure with a hard-earned third-round finish of Gerald Meerschaert last November, de Ridder has cranked it up several notches in 2025, posting consecutive finishes of Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal to force his way into the Top 15. The former ONE Championship two-division titleholder blew through both men, and can insert himself into the title conversation by registering his third win of the year.
Will the former titleholder and perennial contender defend his ground and turn back another ascending hopeful or will “RdR” post a fourth win in nine months and send a shockwave through the middleweight division?