The final UFC pay-per-view of the year promises to be an historic one, as flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo looks to set the record for fastest consecutive UFC title defenses when he faces No. 1 ranked contender Brandon Moreno.
Also on the card, former interim lightweight champion and No. 3 ranked contender Tony Ferguson battles No. 7 Charles Oliveira.
UFC 256 will take place Saturday, December 12 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas and will stream live on Pay-Per-View, exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT in both English and Spanish.
ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events to fans in the U.S. as part of an agreement announced in 2019.
Preliminary fights will air nationally in English on ESPN2 and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, as well as being simulcast in both languages on ESPN+ starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Early prelims will be available on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ (in English and Spanish) at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Figueiredo (20-1, fighting out of Soure, Pará, Brazil) looks to follow up his recent first-round defense of the UFC flyweight title by delivering another spectacular performance less than a month later. A well-rounded finisher, he caught the attention of the MMA world with emphatic stoppages over Joseph Benavidez (twice), Tim Elliot and John Moraga. Figueiredo now aims to continue building his reputation as one of the best fighters on the planet by becoming the first person to finish Moreno.
Moreno (18-5-1, fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico) intends to make the most of his first UFC title shot by derailing Figueiredo. He returns to action on the same short-notice turnaround as the champion, after an impressive first-round finish of fellow top contender Brandon Royval. Undefeated since his return to the UFC, Moreno distinguished himself with victories over Jussier Formiga and Kai Kara-France, and now plans on capturing UFC gold.
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Ferguson (26-4, fighting out of Orange County, Calif.) seeks to place himself back at the top of the rankings with another signature victory. Among the most entertaining athletes on the UFC roster, he worked his way up the pound-for-pound ranks with thrilling wins over Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and Kevin Lee. Ferguson now has his sights set on securing another shot at the undisputed title by snapping the win streak of Oliveira.
Submission ace Oliveira (29-8, 1 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas by way of Sao Paulo, Brazil) goes for his eighth win in a row in the most important bout of his career. The record holder for most submissions in UFC history, he proved himself to be one of the most dangerous competitors in the lightweight division with finishes of Kevin Lee, Nick Lentz and Jim Miller. Oliveira now intends to deliver his most remarkable performance yet and insert his name into the title conversation.
Additional bouts on the card include
- Exciting lightweights clash as Renato Moicano (14-3-1, fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil) takes on Rafael Fiziev (8-1, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand)
- Fan favorite middleweight Kevin Holland (21-5, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) seeks to secure the biggest win of his career when he takes on dangerous veteran Jacare Souza (26-8, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Ranked heavyweights lock horns as former UFC champion and No. 7 ranked Junior Dos Santos (21-8, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) looks to hand No. 14 Ciryl Gane (6-0, fighting out of Paris, France) his first loss
- Li Jing Liang (17-6, fighting out of Beijing, China) challenges fellow welterweight striker Dwight Grant (10-3, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.)
- Cub Swanson (26-11, fighting out of Palm Springs, Calif.) meets Daniel Pineda (27-13, 2 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) in a matchup of featherweight veterans
- Ranked women’s strawweights aim to break into the top 10 as No. 11 Mackenzie Dern (9-1, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) takes on No. 13 Virna Jandiroba (16-1, fighting out of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil)
- Women’s strawweight veterans intend to steal the show as No. 9 Tecia Torres (11-5, fighting out of Colorado Springs, Colo.) faces off with No. 12 Angela Hill (12-9, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.)
- No. 11 ranked women’s flyweight Andrea Lee (11-5, fighting out of Shreveport, La.) plans on getting back to her winning ways against submission specialist and No. 12 ranked Gillian Robertson (9-4, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Niagara Falls, Canada)
- In a battle of featherweight hopefuls, Gavin Tucker (12-1, fighting out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) meets Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Billy Quarantillo (15-2, fighting out of Tampa, Fla.)
- Serghei Spivac (11-2, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) answer the callout of Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Jared Vanderaa (11-4, fighting out of Hemet, Calif.) in a heavyweight bout
- Middleweight finishers Karl Roberson (9-3, fighting out of Neptune, N.J.) and Dalcha Lungiambula (10-2, fighting out of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa) vie for a post-fight bonus
- Dana White’s Contender Series veterans look to bounce back into the win column as Chase Hooper (9-1-1, fighting out of Enumclaw, Wash.) faces Peter Barrett (11-4, fighting out of East Bridgewater, Mass.)