Announcements
Dana White Announces More Fights Happening In 2024
UFC CEO Dana White Announced A Handful Important Fights Taking Place Across Four Different Events
Between the 2024 UFC seasonal press conference and Dana White’s post-fight presser at UFC 296, the UFC boss dropped a handful of fight news over the last week.
But he wasn’t quite done.
Today, White announced a variety of high-level fights taking place on UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria, UFC Mexico City, UFC Atlantic City, and UFC 300.
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is set to face Paulo Costa at UFC 298 on February 17 in an all-action bout sure to deliver. After UFC 296, White announced the Geoff Neal and Ian Machado Garry was set to take place at UFC 299 in Miami, but tonight he announced that the bout would now take place at UFC 298 in Anaheim.
Special Announcement From Dana White | December 21, 2023
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Special Announcement From Dana White | December 21, 2023
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The last time we saw Australia’s Whittaker was when he was defeated by surging contender Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. The former champion had been working his way up the ladder for another chance at Israel Adesanya, but now that Sean Strickland is the champion and he’s set to face Du Plessis at UFC 297 in January, Whittaker has his aim on making a case for another shot at middleweight glory.
Same goes for Brazil’s Costa, who fought for the undisputed middleweight title at UFC 253 but was defeated by Adesanya. It’s been a strange road for Costa, who has had multiple fights scheduled but injuries and other issues have forced him or his opponents out of bouts. He was supposed to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 before a bad infection in his elbow forced him out of the fight.
The two middleweight contenders are both in need of a big win to get into the title conversation, and both “The Reaper” and “Borrachinha” have visions of making a statement to start off their 2024 campaign.
Mexico City is bringing the heat with a main event that features former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno facing Amir Albazi, a fight that could have implications on the next title shot. White announced that the co-main event will be five rounds featuring a rematch between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega. The two originally met in July 2022, with the bout ending early due to a shoulder injury on Ortega’s side.
On March 30, the UFC is returning to Atlantic City, and they are bringing a high-stakes flyweight fight to the boardwalk as No. 2 ranked Erin “Cold Blooded” Blanchfield with face No. 3 ranked Manon “The Beast” Fiorot.
New Jersey’s own Blanchfield figures to have plenty of support in the Garden state and abroad as she looks to secure a shot at the flyweight title. Blanchfield is 12-1, undefeated in the UFC, and her wins over Jéssica Andrade and Taila Santos have her firmly in line to compete for gold if she can get past France’s Fiorot.
The 33-year-old Fiorot finds herself in the same position as Blanchfield, undefeated in the UFC and likely one statement win away from fighting for the 125-pound strap. Fiorot has already showcased her technique and skills in wins over contenders such as Tabatha Ricci, now bantamweight contender Mayra Bueno Silva, Jennifer Maia, and Katlyn Chookagian. In Fiorot’s last bout, she took a big risk by welcoming former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas to the division, but Fiorot cashed in big time by beating “Thug Rose” by unanimous decision.
White also announced the first three fights to go on UFC 300, happening on April 13 in Las Vegas.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and current No. 2 ranked Jirí Procházka will fight No. 5 ranked Aleksandar Rakić in a crucial 205-pound fixture.
Procházka is coming off of a championship defeat at the hands of Alex Pereira in November and the 31-year-old is determined to earn another chance at UFC gold. Rakić Is seeking his first win since UFC 259 after a significant knee injury in May of 2022 forced him to the sidelines for the rest of the year and all of 2023.
Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is now set to make his featherweight debut against No. 7 ranked Calvin Kattar at UFC 300.
And last but not least, White announced the return of top middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, as the former Penn State wrestling champion will make his third walk to the Octagon against veteran Cody Brundage.
Just a few weeks ago at UFC Fight Night: Dariush vs Tsarukyan, Brundage landed a stunning slam knockout to extend his winning streak to two-in-a-row. The Factory X product has eight UFC fights under his belt and is looking to redirect Nickal’s hype to himself with the biggest win of his UFC career to date.
Nickal has been excellent so far during his short professional MMA career. The 27-year-old is 5-0 and he’s finished every one of his fights inside the first round and under three minutes. Brundage is Nickal’s biggest test to date and beating someone as seasoned as Brundage will prove that it’s only big things for Nickal in 2024.
Stay tuned on UFC.com for any and all updates regarding fights, events, and more.
UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria took place live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California on February 17, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
