The UFC concluded its September slate on Saturday, with a gritty Raul Rosas Jr. win at the Apex overshadowed by a medical episode involving opponent Raoni Barcelos. Also that night, Ailin Perez extended her win streak to seven in a bantamweight matchup that proved surprisingly tepid despite the bad blood beforehand. Two new The Ultimate Fighter winners were crowned, one in anticlimactic fashion. Finally, Sedriques Dumas was quickly finished by debuting full-time police officer Luis Hernandez.
Now, it is time for October. Three title fights grace this month, including two on the same card. The other three five-round fights feature up-and-coming prospects. That being said, here are some other fights to keep an eye on.
For all the chatter regarding its lack of depth, the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division still has some up-and-coming names that could define its future. One of those is Luana Santos. The Brazilian ex-flyweight is only 26 years of age, which is basically an infant when compared to her peers, most of whom are 30. If she wins frequently and impressively enough, she can be a champion in no time.
Before claiming a championship belt can happen, however, L. Santos has to get past a member of the old guard. Yana Santos has fought a who’s who of names over her eight years in the UFC, including former champions Holly Holm and Miesha Tate. She is currently on a career-best three-win streak, and a win over her will be the biggest feather in L. Santos’ cap.
UFC 332 has drawn much criticism for the quality, or purported lack thereof, of its card. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the main event – a vacant flyweight title fight between Natalia Silva vs. Cong Wang.
The co-main, which pits blue-chip prospect Payton Talbott against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, has also drawn its fair share of criticism given its optics. Nevertherless, it is one of the more intriguing “gatekeeper vs.-prospect fights” that the UFC could have made.
Talbott already has a former UFC champion on his resume, having sent Henry Cejudo into retirement nearly ten months ago. Figueiredo, meanwhile, is looking to rejuvenate his career after two straight losses.
While men’s bantamweight is relatively healthy in terms of talent, another young, promising contender will not hurt. Will it emerge next week? Time to find out.
Other than the three title fights, Erin Blanchfield vs Jasmin Jasudavicius may have the most stakes of any bout in October.
Since entering the UFC in 2021, Blanchfield has established herself as a perennial contender, Her only loss so far has come against Manon Fiorot, who challenged for the title two fights later. Since then, she has won two straight, including giving Tracy Cortez her first stoppage loss.
On the other side is Jasudavicius. The Canadian hero is coming off a decision win over Karine Silva in April, and she is looking to put on another strong performance before a hot local crowd.
With Valentina Shevchenko out for up to a year because of injury, the race to rule women’s flyweight has dramatically changed. Alexa Grasso is clearly the first in line for whoever emerges as champion next week, but the winner of this fight may also something to say about it.
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October is shaping up to be a very busy month for the UFC, and the crown jewel has not been mentioned yet. The main event of UFC 333 is a meritocrat’s delight, as Movsar Evloev finally gets his much-awaited shot at Alexander Volkanovski. Too often, Dana White attempted to age Evloev out of contention because of his grind-heavy style, but a win over Lerone Murphy made him undeniable. Now, he looks to finally realize his potential.
In the co-main, a rivalry ends as Petr Yan defends the bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in a rubber match. Their first meeting in March 2023 ended with Dvalishvili seemingly ending Yan’s title hopes with a clear-cut decision. Claims of Yan’s demise turned out to be exaggerated, however, as he embarked on a three-win streak before regaining the title against Dvalishvili at UFC 323.
The other main events, while not as star-studded, promise action. A week after UFC 332, middleweight contenders Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan clash in the Apex. Edmonton sees Joaquin Buckley and Mike Malott throw down, while the week after UFC 333 features Renato Moicano playing gatekeeper against Tom Nolan.
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