The UFC returns to the United Arab Emirates this weekend for a Battle Evening occasion, and the promotion is already filling up the October Abu Dhabi pay-per-view with “huge boys”.
The corporate introduced Thursday that Aleksandar Rakic will get his likelihood to snap a three-fight shedding skid at UFC 321 on Oct. 25, when he faces undefeated Russian expertise Azamat Murzakanov.
Rakic is holding on to the No. 8 spot at 205 kilos within the MMA Preventing International Rankings, whereas the surging Murzakanov presently stands at No. 11.
UFC additionally formally introduced a heavyweight conflict between Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida, which was first reported by MMA Preventing. UFC 321 is headlined by Tom Aspinall’s first protection of the undisputed heavyweight belt versus Ciryl Gane.
Rakic (14-5) had an unimaginable begin within the promotion with six wins in seven appearances from 2017 and 2021, shedding solely in a break up determination to Volkan Oezdemir. His profession took a flip after he suffered a leg damage in opposition to Jan Blachowicz in 2022. The damage pressured Rakic to undergo a protracted restoration course of and he returned to motion in 2024, shedding to former and future champions Jiri Prochazka and Magomed Ankalaev.
Murzakanov (15-0) has received 5 in a row within the UFC, capped off by a first-round knockout of Brendson Ribeiro this previous June. The Courageous CF openweight event champion additionally holds a stoppage victory over future PFL season finalist Matheus Scheffel on Dana White’s Contender Sequence.
Three different bouts have been made official for UFC 321: Azat Maksum (15-2) vs. Mitch Raposo (9-3) (flyweight), Ikram Aliskerov (16-2) vs. Jun Yong Park (19-6) (middleweight), and Hamdy Abdelwahab (6-1, 1 NC) vs. Chris Barnett (23-9) (heavyweight).
