UFC 309 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 310 in Las Vegas.
The promotion was in New York City last week, where the iconic Madison Square Garden played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest major card in "The Big Apple." Of note were headline wins for Jon Jones and Charles Oliveira, as well as important victories for Bo Nickal, Viviane Araújo, and Mauricio Ruffy.
While the aftermath of the Nov. 16 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the heavyweight title picture to the flyweight championship conversation.
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At UFC 310, set for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, reigning kingpin Alexandre Pantoja will compete for the second time this year, once again in defense of his 125-pound gold. After following his crowning against Brandon Moreno with retentions opposite Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg, “The Cannibal” will next face a newcomer in the form of ex-Rizin champion Kai Asakura.
Stakes will also be high in the co-headliner, as Shavkat Rakhmonov looks to defend his spot as next in line for a shot at Belal Muhammad following the welterweight titleholder's withdrawal due to injury. The replacement fight will see "Nomad" face a fellow undefeated contender in Ireland's Ian Garry.
Gane, Mitchell, Landwehr Set The Stage For High-Profile Headliners At UFC 310
Before Pantoja defends his belt and Rakhmonov meets the challenge of "The Future," a number of other notable names will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their position on the major UFC 310 card.
That includes former interim heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane. Having not competed since knocking out Serghei Spivac in Paris last year, the Frenchman will return after 15 months to once again collide with Alexander Volkov. "Drago" finds himself with a chance for redemption against "Bon Gamin" after rising to #3 in the division courtesy of his triumph over Sergei Pavlovich in Saudi Arabia this past June.
Prior to that, ranked featherweight Bryce Mitchell will also get his sole outing of 2024 and first fight since being brutally slept by Josh Emmett at last year's final pay-per-view. To bounce back, "Thug Nasty" is tasked with defending his spot on the ladder opposite a fellow grappling specialist in Kron Gracie. The 36-year-old returned from a near-four-year layoff in May 2023 but disappointed in defeat versus Charles Jourdain. After another lengthy layoff, he'll hope to record his first win since 2019 at the expense of Mitchell.
And opening the UFC 310 main card will be a sure-fire firefight between Nate Landwehr and Dooho Choi. "The Train" will enter the event off the back of a KO victory over Jamall Emmers this past March, while "The Korean Superboy" — who sits as part of the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing owing to his 2016 war with Cub Swanson — rebounded from a four-fight winless run by stopping Bill Algeo in July for his first triumph in eight years.
Those pairings have gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the crucial featherweight contest between the #5-ranked Movsar Evloev and former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling, which is currently slated to be the penultimate prelim.
See below for the full UFC 310 card, as it stands.
Main Card:
- Flyweight Championship Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs. Kai Asakura
- Welterweight Co-Main Event: Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Garry
- Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Featherweight: Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie
- Featherweight: Nate Landwehr vs. Dooho Choi
Preliminary Card:
- Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Themba Gorimbo
- Featherweight: Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes
- Welterweight: Randy Brown vs. Bryan Battle
Early Preliminary Card:
- Heavyweight: Tallison Teixeira vs. Łukasz Brzeski
- Flyweight: Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
- Lightweight: Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
- Welterweight: Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
- Heavyweight: Martin Buday vs. Rizvan Kuniev
