Top-10 middleweights Derek Brunson and Darren Till will take the headline role next week.
UFC Fight Night from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will feature the meeting between Brunson and Till. The card airs live on ESPN_ beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The main card is set to kickoff at 4 p.m. ET.
Brunson (22-7, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.) plans to continue his rise to the top of the division and add the former welterweight title challenger to his resume. Currently on a four-fight win streak, he most recently secured wins over top middleweight prospects Edmen Shahbazyan and Kevin Holland. Brunson now intends to insert himself into the title conversation with a statement win over Till.
Fan favorite Till (18-3-1, fighting out of Liverpool, England) makes his eagerly anticipated return to the Octagon® and hopes to kick off his off his 2021 campaign with an emphatic win. Since joining UFC’s roster in 2015, he has faced off against some of the promotion’s biggest names, scoring victories over Kelvin Gastleum, Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone. Till now looks to secure his most important middleweight win yet and break into the top five of the division.
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall meets Sergei Pavlovich.
Aspinall (10-2, fighting out of Atherton, England) aims to deliver another exciting performance and continue working his way up the heavyweight rankings. Currently undefeated in the UFC, the 28-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is coming off his biggest victory to date over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski earlier this year. Aspinall now seeks to maintain his impressive 100 percent finishing rate by taking out Pavlovich.
Fellow heavyweight prospect Pavlovich (14-1, fighting out of Moscow, Russia) has his sights set on proving that he has the power to stop anyone in the division. With 11 of his 14 wins coming by first round KO, including his two UFC victories over Maurice Greene and Marcelo Golm, Pavlovich has established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He now plans to prove he has what it takes to compete with the division’s elite by vanquishing Aspinall.
Below is the rest of the card:
Women’s flyweights look to steal the show as Ariane Lipski (13-7, fighting out of Paraná, Brazil) matches up against UFC newcomer Mandy Bohm (7-0, 1NC, fighting out of Gelsenkirchen, Germany).
- Modestas Bukauskas (11-4, fighting out of Sarratt, England) plans to stop The Ultimate Fighter alum Khalil Rountree (9-5, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) in a light heavyweight bout.
- Paddy Pimblett (16-3, fighting out of Liverpool, England) makes his long-awaited UFC debut as he takes on Brazilian Luigi Vendramini (9-2, fighting out of Brasília, Brazil) in a lightweight bout.
- Molly McCann (10-4, fighting out of Liverpool, England) returns to the Octagon and aims to get back to her winning ways when she faces Ji Yeon Kim (9-3-2, fighting out of Incheon, South Korea) in a women’s flyweight bout.
- An exciting bantamweight bout sees Jack Shore (14-0, fighting out of Abertillery, Wales) look to maintain his undefeated record when he faces off with The Ultimate Fighter alumni Liudvik Sholinian (9-1-1, fighting out of Kiev, Ukraine) who replaces Said Nurmagomedov.
- In an exciting 150-pound catchweight bout, Charles Jourdain (11-3-1, fighting out of Beloeil, Quebec, Canada) collides with Julian Erosa (25-10, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) who replaces Lerone Murphy.
- Middleweight Dalcha Lungiambula (11-2, fighting out of Cape Town, South Africa) aims to build on his recent win as he takes on Marc-Andre Barriault (12-4, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada).
- Welterweights lock horns as David Zawada (17-6, fighting out of Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) battles Alex Morono (19-7, 1 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) who replaces Sergey Khandozhko.
- Jonathan Martinez (13-4, fighting out of Plainview, Texas) faces off against Marcelo Rojo (16-8, fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico) in an exciting bantamweight bout.