UFC Returns Saturday With Jared Cannonier Vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Top-10 middleweight contenders Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum will square off in the main event Saturday at UFC Fight Night.

Set from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the card will air live on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. 

Along with Cannonier vs. Gastelum, Clay Guida and Mark O. Madsen tangle in the co-main event.

Former heavyweight and light heavyweight Cannonier (13-5, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) returns to the Octagon after almost a year out of action looking to secure another signature knockout win. After debuting in the UFC middleweight division in 2018, Cannonier established himself as a top contender with three straight finishes over David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson. He now intends to become the first person to knock Gastelum out and reinsert himself into the championship conversation.

Gastelum (17-7, 1 NC fighting out of Yuma, Ariz.) has his sights set on breaking back into the top five of the division with a devastating performance. The youngest winner of The Ultimate Fighter, he has been a standout member of the UFC roster since joining in 2013, with notable victories over former UFC champions Johny Hendricks and Michael Bisping. Gastelum now seeks to prove that he is still one of the elite by taking out Cannonier.

Below is the current fight card: 

• Heavyweight strikers Parker Porter (11-6, fighting out of West Hartford, Conn.) and Chase Sherman (15-7, fighting out of D’lberville, Miss.) look to steal the show
• A gritty matchup in the lightweight division sees Vinc Pichel (13-2, fighting out of Simi Valley, Calif.) take on Austin Hubbard (13-5, fighting out of Denver, Colo.)
• Top 10 flyweights clash as No. 3 contender Alexandre Pantoja (23-5, fighting out of Arraial Do Cabo, Brazil) battles No. 6 Brandon Royval (12-5, fighting out of Lakewood, Colo.)
• Featherweights Austin Lingo (8-1, fighting out of Mesquite, Texas) and Luis Saldana (15-6, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) intend to deliver statement-making performances
• Brian Kelleher (22-12, fighting out of Selden, N.Y.) and Domingo Pilarte (9-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) collide in a matchup of bantamweight finishers
• The Ultimate Fighter alum Bea Malecki (4-0, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) aims to stay undefeated in the UFC when she locks horns with newcomer Josiane Nunes (7-1, fighting out of Gralha Azul, Parana, Brazil)
• William Knight (9-2, fighting out of Vernon, Conn.) takes on Fabio Cherant (7-2, fighting out of Wrentham, Mass.) in a light heavyweight bout
• Dana White’s Contender Series veterans Roosevelt Roberts (11-2, 1 NC, fighting out of San Bernardino, Calif.) and Ignacio Bahamondes (11-4, fighting out of Itasca, Ill.) seek to show off their skills at lightweight
• Exciting bantamweights vie for a post-fight bonus as Mana Martinez (8-2, fighting out of Houston, Texas) meets Trevin Jones (13-6 1 NC, fighting out of Inarajan, Guam)
• Sasha Palatnikov (6-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Hong Kong, China) looks to bounce back into the UFC win column when he faces Ramiz Brahimaj (8-3, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)