MMA fans are coming off an eventful weekend. UFC 330 took place on Saturday and saw Islam Makhachev become one of the all-time greats. Along with an action-packed fight card, the UFC announced UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. That card is stacked from top to bottom and has major implications.
Something was off, though. In recent weeks, the UFC has announced full cards for 331 and 333. Meanwhile, UFC 332 still had no major fights confirmed. That changed on Tuesday, well, sort of. Some fun matchups got confirmed by the UFC, but nothing mind-blowing just yet.
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Confirmed UFC 332 matchupsDec 6, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Payton Talbott (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Henry Cejudo (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)No title fights or No. 1 contender matchups. Nonetheless, entertaining scraps with names that casual fans may not know and hardcore fans definitely do.
There are two clear highlights of the announced fights. The first is Deiveson Figueiredo vs Payton Talbott. A classic former champion vs prospect matchup where Talbott looks to land the biggest win of his career. Meanwhile, Figueiredo looks to stay relevant at bantamweight and remain a contender despite being 38 years old.
The next major highlight of these confirmed fights is at middleweight. Ateba Gautier is one of the most frightening prospects in UFC history. Gautier has been called “the middleweight Francis Ngannou,” and it’s warranted. It’s rare to see one punch power like Gautier possesses, and now he takes a leap in competition.
Roman Kopylov is an almost seven-year UFC veteran, with multiple stints inside the middleweight rankings. Kopylov is an exceptional striker, especially with his kicks. The framework of this matchup will be Kopylov’s volume vs Gautier’s power and pressure.
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UFC veterans such as Johnny Walker and Marvin Vettori are always needed on a numbered event. Fighters who have been around the UFC and have had major fights for years now.
While these fights are a solid start to the card, there are still major announcements left to be made. As of Tuesday, there’s still no main event for UFC 322, which is less than seven weeks away. Here are fights to look for at the top of the card.
Predicting UFC 332 main and co-main eventsApr 11, 2026; Miami, Florida, UNITED STATES; Jiri Prochazka (red gloves) before the fight against Carlos Ulberg (blue gloves) during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images. Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)Right off the bat, there’s zero chance that the UFC books Tom Aspinall and Cyril Gane for Utah in October. If there is any division that needs a huge fight, it’s light heavyweight. The perfect main event for UFC 332 would be an interim title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Paulo Costa.
The 205 champion, Carlos Ulberg, is currently recovering from a torn ACL injury he suffered before knocking out Prochazka for the title. Since Ulberg likely won’t be ready, an interim title is appropriate and doesn’t disrespect him as champion.
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If not for an interim title, this fight could just be a No. 1 contender bout. In that case though, it wouldn’t be the main event.
The next fight at the top of the bill should be the return of women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Her last fight in November 2025; Shevchenko needs to defend her belt sometime this year. After beating former strawweight champion Zhang Weili, there is clearly only one contender at flyweight worthy of challenging for the strap.
Natalia Silva is undefeated in the UFC, riding an eight-fight win streak. Silva’s last three wins are all over former champions Rose Namajunas, Alexa Grasso, and Jessica Andrade. There’s simply no one else who has a real case to challenge the greatest flyweight of all time for her title.
Depending on the stakes of the Prochazka-Costa fight, the bout order could go either way. No matter the order, those top two fights on a card are perfect and leave more huge fights to book for November and December.
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