UFC 319 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 320 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The promotion was in Chicago last week, where the United Center played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its eighth numbered event of the year. Of note were headline wins for Khamzat Chimaev and Lerone Murphy, as well as important victories for Carlos Prates, Michael "Venom" Page, and Tim Elliott.
While the aftermath of the August 16 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the middleweight championship title picture to the light heavyweight and bantamweight championship conversations.
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At UFC 320, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 4, Magomed Ankalaev will defend the UFC light heavyweight championship against Alex Pereira. This will be a rematch of their UFC 313 encounter in March, which saw Ankalaev pull off the upset by decision to become the new champion.
Anakalev is 12-0-1 (1 NC) since dropping his UFC debut. Pereira, who has held gold at both 185 and 205 in the UFC, won the light heavyweight title by defeating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. He then defended the belt against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, Prochazka at UFC 303, and Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307.
Stakes will also be high in the co-main event, as the bantamweight championship will be on the line when Merab Dvalishvili defends against Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili won the title from Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 2 (UFC 306) last September and has successfully retained against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 and O'Malley at UFC 316. A win against Sandhagen could solidify Fighter of the Year awards for him across MMA media -- to add onto the ESPY he received last month. Sandhagen has won four of his last five, finishing Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines in May.
Before Ankalaev and Dvalishvili make their way out to defend their titles, several names will look to make their own statements on the main card for UFC 320.
This includes Jiri Prochazka, who will be doing battle with Khalil Rountree Jr. Prochazka, a former light heavyweight champion, rebounded from his second loss to Pereira with a first-round knockout of another former champion in Jamahal Hill at UFC 311. Rountree Jr. rebounded from his unsuccessful challenge of Pereira with a five-round domination of Hill at UFC Baku a couple of months ago.
Another light heavyweight contender in Aleksandar Rakic will also be in action, taking on Azamat Murzakamov. This bout was scheduled for UFC 321 later in October but has been pushed up. Rakic will be looking to snap a three-fight losing skid, most recently dropping a decision to Ankalaev at UFC 308. Murzakamov is a 15-0 up-and-comer who scored a finish of Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 316.
The main card is scheduled to open with Abus Magomedov taking on Joe Pyfer. Magomedov has won three straight, most recently scoring a decision over Michel Pereira at UFC Kansas City in April. Pyfer has won two straight and is 5-1 in the Octagon, most recently defeating Kelvin Gastelum by decision at UFC 316.
Those pairings have currently gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the likes of Patchy Mix, Edmen Shahbazyan, and Macy Chiasson, all of whom are expected to be featured players on the event's preliminary card.
See below for the UFC 320 lineup, as it stands.
Main Card:
Preliminary Card (Order TBA):
Note: There will be no September UFC PPV. Noche UFC 3 on September 13 will be a UFC Fight Night event, which will serve as a lead-in for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing card. Alvarez-Crawford will be the first major fight promoted by TKO Boxing, which includes UFC CEO & President Dana White.
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