The UFC has revealed a 2027 main event for the second time. On Tuesday, it was announced that surging lightweight Quillan Salkilld would be topping the promotion’s return to Sydney, Australia, against Benoit Saint-Denis. This fight joins the championship double-header of Joshua Van-Manel Kape and Carlos Prates-Michael Morales that tops UFC 336 the following week.
Only the Fight Night event in Dallas remains, and it starts the year. No fights have been booked yet, so here are some predictions as to what will top the card.
Main Event: Dricus Du Plessis Vs. Brendan Allen
Last week, Dricus du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser revealed that the former middleweight champion had been invited to take part in some sort of mini-tournament at light heavyweight. Du Plessis declined, citing the need to thoroughly acclimatize himself to the transition between weight classes. Frankly, that is for the best. “Stillknocks” still has some unfinished business at 185, and one man makes perfect sense for him.
Over this year, Brendan Allen has been vocal about wanting to fight with du Plessis. After submitting Christina Leroy Duncan earlier this month, “All In” expressed his frustrations at being allegedly passed over in favor of Kamaru Usman:
“So, yeah, (Usman) was an easier fight than me. There’s no question in that. You can say what you want, you can think what you want; I’m younger, I’m hungrier, I’m bigger, I’m faster, I’m stronger. I’m just to just as experienced. He’s got more title fights, but the amount of fights I’ve got is probably close. I’m tough. I think I’m technically better, but that’s just my opinion. But either way, no matter what, no matter how you cut it, at this point in time, or at that point in time, I was the harder fight. No doubt about it. So he took the easier fight. He knows it, I know it, everyone else knows it.”
Now, Allen vs. Du Plessis is shaping up to be a grudge match. After fighting below his weight class twice, Allen needs to move up. Du Plessis offers him that. This is a middleweight barnburner that no one should miss.
Co-Main: Gillian Robertson Vs. Fatima Kline
Fatima Kline is considered one of a new breed of strawweight contenders. She is 26 years young and has finished half of her wins, and she possesses a dynamic ground game that meshes well with ever-improving striking. “The Archangel” is a clear-cut future champion, but if she wants to solidify the hype, she needs to take on title-caliber opposition.
Enter Gillian Robertson. “The Savage” is coming off an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone Mackenzie Dern, but she is still a hungry fighter who loves to finish fights. With the two basically ranked next to each other, this is a logical next step for both women.
Most fans may not have received a Kline vs. Robertson announcement positively, but female contenders, both present and future, need all the main-card attention they can get. After all, as It’s Not Cagefighting’s Karl Bainbridge has repeatedly said, how will fans be expected to care about them if they get no pedestal?
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End Of My UFC 2027 Rant
2027 is just over two months away, and the UFC has many dream fights to fulfill that year. Sticking to title fights alone, Petr Yan wants to avenge his 2022 loss to Sean O’Malley after ending his rivalry with Merab Dvalishvili. Meanwhile, Arman Tsarukyan cannot be denied his lightweight title shot any longer, and Sean Strickland has to settle his financial disputes before committing to rematching Nassourdine Imavov.
2027 could also see some highly anticipated returns. Tom Aspinall has not fought since eye pokes from Ciryl Gane marred his first heavyweight defense, and the damage to his eyes forced him to vacate the title. Valentina Shevchenko will be keenly watching the women’s flyweight division as she looks to reclaim her crown, and so should be Weili Zhang at strawweight.
