The UFC is set to kick off its 2024 event schedule in January with a series of promising events. The first event of the year, UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker, is scheduled for January 13, 2024, at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the card is a light heavyweight rematch between former title challenger Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker, with a controversial No Contest outcome in their previous meeting due to a cage-side doctor’s error. Another major match of the event is a flyweight rematch between Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau.
Several other notable fights are lined up for this event, such as Jim Miller vs. Gabriel Benitez, Ricky Simon vs. Mario Bautista, and Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Meanwhile, UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis will be the first pay-per-view event of the year, taking place on January 20, 2024, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. The headliner is set to be Sean Strickland’s first defense of his middleweight title against South African Dricus Du Plessis. A vacant bantamweight title bout between Mayra Bueno Silva and former title challenger Raquel Pennington is also on the card.
In February 2024, UFC has a busier schedule with three Fight Night events and a massive pay-per-view event. UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov is set for February 3, 2024, at the Apex Facility, featuring a middleweight clash between Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov. On February 10, Jack Hermansson will face Joe Pyfer in another middleweight bout, with a featherweight co-main event pitting Dan Ige against Lerone Murphy.
Wrapping up February is the highly anticipated UFC 297: Volkanovski vs. Topuria on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event showcases a bout between reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria. Other exciting matches include a bantamweight clash between Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili, as well as Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura, Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry, and Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos. February’s final event will be UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi, headlined by a flyweight match between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi on February 24, 2024, in Mexico City.
