The UFC recently announced the promotion’s full schedule for the rest of 2018, and for today’s MMA odds and ends I’ll write about the most important stops on the schedule, and what fighters we can expect to see on the cards.
UFC 228: Saturday, September 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
The UFC will head to Dallas for this event and as of yet no main event has been announced for the card despite it being just two months away. I would expect the UFC to announce the main event soon. I think Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington to unify the welterweight titles and Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade for the strawweight titles would make sense as a double main event for this card. The UFC usually brings really good cards to Dallas and I don’t see this being any different. I could also see Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega getting re-booked for this card as well.
UFC 229: Saturday, October 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
The rumor floating around is that Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will meet at this card for the lightweight title, but until McGregor sorts out his legal troubles it’s hard to book him for any fights. But if he does return, then this would make sense. I would also look for Nicco Montano to possibly defend her women’s flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko on this card.
UFC 230: Saturday, November 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
The UFC always brings a massive card to New York so it could hold off on doing McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov until this event. I definitely see at least one if not two or possibly even three title fights on this card. Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes in a superfight would be a great addition to this card as well, though we don’t know if that fight is in the UFC’s plans anymore.
UFC Fight Night 25th Anniversary Event: Saturady, November 10 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado
I’m shocked the UFC chose to do a Fight Night card for its 25th anniversary event rather than a full pay-per-view. That being said, I fully expect the UFC to stack this card. If Namajunas vs. Andrade hasn’t been booked by this date then it would make sense for this card, as would either a men’s bantameight title defense or a men’s flyweight title fight depending on what happens at UFC 227.
UFC 231: Saturday, December 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The UFC’s return to Toronto should be a fun one, and the date conincides nicely with the completion of TUF 28, which features coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum before they meet for the UFC middleweight title. If Whittaker is healthy in time, then it makes a ton of sense to book him against Gastelum on this card. And if that’s the case, the UFC would be smart if they booked other middleweights such as Yoel Romero and Chris Weidman on this card just in case of an injury.
UFC 232: Saturday, December 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Finally, the last big card of the year takes place around New Year’s Eve as it usually does. The hope would be for Daniel Cormier to fight Brock Lesnar on this card, though it seems like that fight is being saved until January. This event is really far away and so much can happen, but I’d look for a huge fight on the UFC’s year-end car per usual. I wonder if it could mark George St. Pierre’s return (again) to the MMA cage, and I wouldn’t be shocked if fought a Diaz brother.
