MMA action inside the Octagon resumes on Saturday, January 13 with the first UFC Fight Night card for 2024 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas aka UFC Vegas 84. In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker square off in a rematch. The bout is scheduled for five rounds at light heavyweight.
The pair first met last October in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294. The bout ended in No Contest in the first round after Ankalaev delivered an illegal knee rendering Walker unable to continue.
In December 2022, Ankalaev (17-1-1, 1 NC) of Dagestan faced former champion Jan Blachowicz for the division’s vacant title in a bout that ended in a split draw. Walker (21-7, 1 NC) of Brazil won a pair of bouts last year by unanimous decision against Anthony Smith in May and by TKO in the first round against Paul Craig in January.
The co-main event is a flyweight bout between Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape. Nicolau (19-3-1) of Brazil is looking to return to winning ways, after suffering the defeat by KO in the first round against Brandon Royval last April, which snapped his six-fight winning streak. Kape (19-6) of Angola won four fights in a row, including a unanimous decision against Felipe dos Santos last time out in September 2023.
Also on the main card a lightweight bout between Jim Miller (36-17) of the United States and Gabriel Benitez (23-11) of Mexico. As well, Ricky Simon (20-4) and Mario Bautista (13-2) meet in an all-American contest at bantamweight. In addition, Phil Hawes (12-5) of the United States and Brunno Ferreira (10-1) of Brazil clash at middleweight.
On the top of prelims, the U.S.-based former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (34-22) takes on Waldo Cortes-Acosta (10-1) of Dominican Republic. Among other bouts, Matthew Semelsberger (11-6) faces fellow-American Preston Parsons (10-4) at welterweight, Westin Wilson (16-8) of the United States battles Jean Silva (11-2) of Brazil at featherweight and Nikolas Motta (13-5) of Brazil fights Tom Nolan (6-0) of Australia at lightweight.
A pair of bantamweight bouts features Marcus McGhee (8-1) of the United States up against Gaston Bolanos (7-3) of Peru and Farid Basharat (11-0) of Afghanistan versus Taylor Lapilus (19-3) of France. Plus, Rounding out the card, Joshua Van (9-1) of the United States and Felipe Bunes (13-6) of Brazil go toe-to-toe at flyweight.
In Australia, the event airs live on Sunday, January 14.
UFC Vegas 84: Ankalaev vs Walker 2 fight card
The current UFC Vegas 84: Ankalaev vs Walker 2 fight card looks as the following:
Main card
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker, light heavyweight
- Matheus Nicolau vs. Manel Kape, flyweight
- Jim Miller vs. Gabriel Benitez, lightweight
- Ricky Simon vs. Mario Bautista, bantamweight
- Phil Hawes vs. Brunno Ferreira, middleweight
Preliminary card
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta, heavyweight
- Matthew Semelsberger vs. Preston Parsons, welterweight
- Marcus McGhee vs. Gaston Bolanos, bantamweight
- Farid Basharat vs. Taylor Lapilus, bantamweight
- Westin Wilson vs. Jean Silva, featherweight
- Tom Nolan vs. Nikolas Motta, lightweight
- Joshua Van vs. Felipe Bunes, flyweight