September has arrived, and the UFC has a full, strong slate of events lined up.
The schedule begins this week, as lightweight veteran Dan Hooker welcomes former KSW two-weight champion Salahdine Parnasse to the Octagon in Paris. That is followed by Noche UFC, as Jose Delgado steps up to replace an injured Yair Rodriguez against Jean Silva.
The second half is headlined by UFC 331, which is headlined by the much-awaited flyweight title rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. Finally, to end the month, bantamweight blue-chip prospect Raul Rosas Jr. gets his first headlining opportunity when he draws Raoni Barcelos inside the Apex.
Besides those main events, however, here are other fights to look forward to.
Michael Page is one of the most enigmatic signings in UFC history.
After a storied stint in Bellator that saw Page challenge for the welterweight title once, “Venom” finally joined the promotion in 2024. Since then, he has done decently well, losing only to recent title challenger Ian Machado Garry. Yet there is this feeling that he can achieve more.
After going 15 lbs. and winning two straight, including against former challenger Jared Cannonier, Page drew former training partner Sam Patterson – a rather bizarre booking given his reputation. The result was a slog that he won by unanimous decision, and his output, or lack thereof, showed.
Luckily, Nursulton Ruziboev should prove a more willing dance partner. The Uzbek has gone the distance just twice in seven Octagon appearances, with three wins coming by way of (T)KO. Page will surely relish the stylistic matchup – his savvy counter-striking against “Black”‘s heavy hands.
Title eliminators do not get any more obvious than this.
On one side is former champion Alexa Grasso, who is coming off an utterly devastating “Knockout of the Year” candidate against Maycee Barber this past March. On the other is former challenger Manon Fiorot, who has not fought since silencing the Canadian crowd with an equally devastating TKO of Jasmine Jasudavicius last year.
With Valentina Shevchenko defending her title against Natalia Silva three weeks later, the stakes are as simple as they can be: the winner gets the next shot.
Since his notorious weigh-in debacle before UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan has constantly been denied a lightweight title shot.
It first occurred when Islam Makhachev decided to go 15 lbs. north, with Ilia Topuria leaving featherweight to fight Charles Oliveira. Then, after Tsarukyan beat Dan Hooker in his return, Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for the interim title was booked.
After Gaethje shockingly unified the titles against Topuria, logic dictated that Tsarukyan would be next. Instead, he has to fight again, this time against Mauricio Ruffy, who is coming off consecutive knockouts of Rafael Fiziev and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler.
Will Tsarukyan finally prove himself undeniable, or will Dana White finally find the perfect excuse to cut him? Such is the intrigue surrounding this fight.
Women’s bantamweight has widely been derided as one of the UFC’s worst divisions, but it is not as if new contenders are not emerging there.
One of them is Ailin Perez. Though only one of her wins has come inside the distance, the Argentinian has made up for it with an uncompromising character. She likes to twerk, especially after fights, which has helped to create an air of notoriety around her.
Standing in “Fiona”‘s path is Norma Dumont. Upon returning to 135 in 2024, “The Immortal” had a very strong streak, most notably sending Germaine de Randamie and Irene Aldana, both former Amanda Nunes opponents, to retirement. Her momentum was, however, stopped by Joselyne Edwards this February.
While this may not be the most exciting fight on paper, this is, in terms of divisional placement, the most relevant fight in a card full of prospects. It deserves main-card placement; otherwise, as Karl Bainbridge has repeatedly said, how will fans buy into them as title challengers?
The UFC’s last September event also features the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 34.
While the bantamweight matchup between Mehemmedeli Osmanli and Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu is by no means bad, the women’s one packs more name value. Valesca Machado is a former Invicta strawweight champion who has competed on Dana White’s Contender Series, giving her at least some UFC-adjacent exposure. Meanwhile, Melissa Amaya is a Combate Global alum looking to be the promotion’s latest Hispanic sensation.
Plenty of MMA action awaits fans this month, and fans should savor the amount of artful violence that they will be getting.
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