Q1 was electric, with four pay-per-view events on four different continents, new champions crowned in three divisions, plus an interim titleholder emerged at featherweight, and the clear clubhouse leaders in the Fight of the Year, Submission of the Year, and Knockout of the Year races have already been established, and those bars are all going to be pretty tough to clear.
But here’s the cherry on top of that awesome sundae: the schedule doesn’t let off now that we’re shifting into Q2 and heading towards the summer; it only keeps getting better!
With April 1 falling on a Saturday, it means even with a nice little weekend respite to start the month, there are still four events on tap for April, beginning with a pay-per-view headlined by a captivating championship main event and culminating with a critical battle in the lightweight division.
The action inside the Octagon should remain captivating and competitive over the next several weeks, with the following collection of matchups standing out as the absolute must-see battles on tap for April.
Raul Rojas Jr. vs Christian Rodriguez
After becoming the youngest fighter to earn a victory in the UFC Octagon last December, Rosas Jr. returns for his sophomore appearance opposite fellow Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alum Rodriguez in a tantalizing bantamweight matchup set to kick off the UFC 287 main card.
Rosas Jr. is one of the most fascinating fighters in the UFC at the moment — an undefeated 18-year-old who carries himself and fights like someone much older and with far more than just seven professional appearances under his belt. He made quick work of Jay Perrin in his debut, shifting into grappling mode almost immediately before taking his opponent’s back and collecting the tap, and he will look to replicate that effort here.
Order UFC 287: Pereira vs Adesanya 2
Rodriguez doesn’t have any of the hype or commands the same kind of media attention as his UFC 287 dance partner, but make no mistake about it — the 25-year-old Milwaukee native is a legitimate prospect and someone with real upside in the 135-pound weight class. He dropped his debut on short notice up a division to Jonathan Pearce, but bounced back with a swift submission win in his return to bantamweight, and can make a splash if he derails Rosas Jr. in this one.
This is an outstanding “measuring stick” matchup for Rosas Jr. and a great chance for Rodriguez to show where he stands in the talent-rich division, as well, and folks should be paying close attention because each of these men could develop into Top 15 fixtures in the coming years.
Rob Font vs Adrian Yanez
Staying in the bantamweight division, Font returns for the first time in nearly a year, looking to snap a two-fight skid while facing off with the surging Yanez, who enters with a 5-0 mark inside the Octagon and riding a nine-fight winning streak overall.
The 35-year-old Font hasn’t competed since dropping a unanimous decision to Marlon “Chito” Vera on the final day of April last year, opting instead to take plenty of time to regroup while also welcoming his first child. The New England Cartel member is a staple in the bantamweight rankings with wins over Thomas Almeida, Sergio Pettis, Ricky Simon, Marlon Moraes, and Cody Garbrandt, and should serve as a dangerous veteran test for Yanez down in Miami.
One of the standout talents to emerging from the first four season of the Contender Series, Yanez left the familiar confines of the UFC APEX last time out and didn’t miss a beat, registering a first-round stoppage win over Tony Kelley in his home state of Texas to collect his fifth straight UFC victory. This is his first assignment against a ranked opponent and a chance for him to truly join the ascending pack currently making waves in the 135-pound weight class.
This is a perfect bit of matchmaking, as stylistically, Font and Yanez pair together nicely and should produce an entertaining back-and-forth battle on the feet, and from a divisional standpoint, it’ll show where each man stands at the moment and present ideas on where they could go in the next 12-18 months.
Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal
Welterweights man the co-main event slot at UFC 287 as Burns and Masvidal face off in a bout that carries great importance for each man.
Burns enters this one off a dominant submission victory over Neil Magny in January and has the feel of a man on a mission. While he didn’t win his clash with Khamzat Chimaev last April at UFC 273, it reminded everyone that “Durinho” is the real deal, and if he marches into Masvidal’s backyard and turns in a spectacular performance, the Brazilian will be on the short list of potential title challengers in the 170-pound weight class heading into the second half of the year.
This is a home game for the Miami born and raised Masvidal, and a potentially pivotal moment in his career as he enters stuck in a three-fight funk. After suffering back-to-back losses to Kamaru Usman in championship fights, “Gamebred” landed on the wrong side of things in his grudge match with former friend Colby Covington last year, and really needs to right the ship if he still wants to hold himself out there as the BMF champion.
Will Burns roll into hostile territory and hand Masvidal a fourth consecutive defeat or can the 38-year-old get himself back into the win column and electrify the crowd in Miami heading into the main event?
Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya
Does this one really need explaining?
Not only is the middleweight championship once again hanging in the balance as Pereira and Adesanya renew acquaintances for the second time in the UFC and fourth time in their shared combat sports careers, but this one also feels like a mini-referendum on whether one individual or team can simply have another individual or team’s number?
Pereira hit the fifth round of their title clash at UFC 281 needing a finish in order to secure a victory and he went out and got it, walking down his longtime rival and dispatching him with a barrage of unanswered blows along the fence two minutes into the final stanza. What’s crazy to think is that “Poatan” is still a baby in terms of his MMA career and development, as he’s just 4-0 in the UFC and 7-1 overall, yet stands as an imposing figure atop the UFC middleweight division nonetheless.
Adesanya showed his class and his development as a fighter during the first four rounds of their meeting in New York City, wobbling Pereira at the horn in one of the early rounds, breaking out some wrestling and grappling in order to ground the menacing striker, and flashing his trademark swift striking, but it still wasn’t enough. Now he’s back looking to reclaim the title he’d held for nearly three years and finally earn a victory over his frequent adversary.
Daniel Cormier famously said, “You can’t call it a rivalry if I don’t have a win” following the conclusion of his second meeting with Jon Jones, and you have to wonder that here, too, as Pereira is up 3-0 across two disciplines and just might be Adesanya’s personal kryptonite as a fighter.
But the fact that we’re unsure is what makes this championship rematch so compelling.
UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen — Saturday, April 15 (Kansas City, Missouri)
Brandon Royval vs. Matheus Nicolau
While bantamweight has commanded the spotlight over the last month and will continue to garner time in the spotlight throughout the spring, flyweight was front-and-center to start the year and this pairing between Royval and Nicolau returns the 125-pound weight class to the front of the room.
Royval is a lunatic, and I mean that in the nicest, most complimentary way possible. He’s an all-action fighter that loves scrambles and chasing submissions, and has yet to face an opponent stationed outside the Top 15 over the course of his six-fight UFC career.
Nicolau is one of the best unheralded talents on the roster — a 30-year-old Brazilian on a four-fight winning streak, sporting a 7-1 record inside the Octagon, and a 19-3-1 record overall. Over his last two outings, Nicolau has upped the intensity, turning in a dominant decision win over David Dvorak before dispatching Matt Schnell in the second round of their December clash in Orlando.
These two men are currently ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, in the flyweight division, and a convincing victory for either could potentially leave them in a position to challenge for the flyweight title next time out and, at the very least, set them up for a title eliminator in the future.
Pedro Munhoz vs Chris Gutierrez
The third of four bantamweight bouts to make this collection comes in Kansas City, as Munhoz reprises his role as the veteran stalwart tasked with taking on one of the emerging names in the division, with Gutierrez being his latest dance partner.
Munhoz has basically inherited the role his countryman Raphael Assuncao inhabited for years, which is fitting, given that he debuted against the recently retired veteran way back in February 2014. While he’s only registered one win in his last six outings, Munhoz has continually fought the top names in the division, and a couple of those results could very well have gone in his favor.
Gutierrez, who turns 32 towards the end of the month, has won four straight and is undefeated over his last eight outings, but still profiles as a bit of a question mark in terms of where he fits in the bantamweight hierarchy. He hastily dispatched Frankie Edgar last November in New York City and seems to be growing in confidence with each appearance, but is also stepping up to face a ranked opponent for the first time here.
When people ask why bantamweight is the best division in the UFC at the moment, direct them to fights like this, as a tenured fighter like Munhoz and a guy on an extended run of success like Gutierrez could be fighting for title contention in most weight classes, but are instead meeting to see who will hold a place towards the back end of the Top 10 here.
Max Holloway vs Arnold Allen
It’s the former champion versus the surging contender in the K.C. headliner!
Holloway hasn’t fought since dropping his Best-of-Five series with Alexander Volkanovski 3-0 with a unanimous decision loss last summer at UFC 276. “Blessed” showed between their second and third encounters that he’s still a force in the featherweight ranks, earning decisive wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez, but could the years of hard battles against elite competition finally be starting to catch up to the popular Hawaiian?
All Allen has done since arriving in the UFC (and a little before it, too) is win, as he touches down for his second main event assignment brandishing a 10-0 mark inside the Octagon and a 12-fight winning streak overall. The 29-year-old Brit has been the odd man out in the championship picture at ’45 over the last year, but he continued posting wins and soldiering ahead, and if that continues through this one, the only thing that should remain is a chance to challenge for UFC gold.
Will Holloway continue to turn back hopefuls looking to topple him en route to a title shot or can Allen maintain his momentum and collect the next “biggest win of his career” in the ongoing series?
UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes — Saturday, April 22 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Song Yadong vs Ricky Simon
The fourth and final bantamweight meeting on this list serves as the co-main event to the first of back-to-back shows at the UFC APEX in the back half of the month.
While it was ultimately a cut that brought about the end of Song’s battle with Cory Sandhagen last year, the Chinese talent was clearly a step behind the perennial contender. That being said, Song is 8-2-1 inside the Octagon and only turned 25 at the start of December, so don’t for a second think he’s not capable of regrouping and remaining a force in this division for the foreseeable future.
Simon touches down for this one on a five-fight winning streak, having bounced Jack Shore from the ranks of the unbeaten last time out. The 30-year-old Pacific Northwest native is 8-2 through his first 10 UFC starts, including a win over surging contender Merab Dvalishvili, and has looked like a late-blooming prospect putting it all together over the course of his current winning streak.
Just as the Munhoz-Gutierrez fight is a great example of the depth of talent at bantamweight, so too is this one as it brings Top 10 talents with sterling records together in a bout that could be a title eliminator in several other weight classes. This is just an awesome fight and bantamweight is an awesome division and I cannot wait for all this goodness in the 135-pound weight class in April.
Sergei Pavlovich vs Curtis Blaydes
With a new champion atop the heavyweight division, it’s time for new challengers to emerge, and Pavlovich and Blaydes are poised to throw down in Vegas with designs on staking their claim to a place in the upper tier of the rankings.
Pavlovich fought three times in 2022, spending a combined 352 seconds sending Shamil Abdurakhimov, Derrick Lewis, and Tai Tuivasa to The Land of Whispers and Ghosts. The last two men on that list didn’t even last a minute with the streaking Russian powerhouse, who is now 17-1 overall, having won five straight since a loss to Alistair Overeem in his promotional debut.
No one was probably happier to see someone new ascend to the top of the heavyweight division than Blaydes, who was stymied as a result of twin losses to former champ Francis Ngannou, but had exhausted just about every other option since their second meeting. The 32-year-old Chicagoland native has won three straight, seven of his last eight, and 12 of 16 in the UFC, with one no contest, establishing himself as a menace on the canvas with developing power in the process.
With Jon Jones on a collision course with Stipe Miocic this summer and Ciryl Gane having just been defeated, there is a very real possibility that the winner of this one could be next in line to challenge for the title, either at the end of the year or in the early part of 2024.
UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Moicano — Saturday, April 29 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Arman Tsarukyan vs Renato Moicano
We’re wrapping up the list with what should be a barnburner at lightweight as Tsarukyan looks to keep things rolling in his second headlining assignment, while Moicano continues searching for big names and big checks.
The 26-year-old Tsarukyan went 2-1 in 2022, stopping Joel Alvarez and out-hustling Damir Ismagulov on either side of a competitive, debated decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot in June. Prior to UFC 284, he was the person that had given current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev the toughest test of his career, and if he can pick up his seventh win in eight starts since their April 2019 encounter here, Tsarukyan will move a step closer to meeting him again.
Moicano also fought thrice last year and sandwiched wins around a loss, submitting both Alexander Hernandez and Brad Riddell while dropping a decision to former champ Rafael Dos Anjos in a short-notice bout in March. The fiery Brazilian has christened himself “Money” Moicano and claims he only wants tough assignments and big paydays; he’s found himself the former here, and a victory could bring about the latter.
This is one of those matchups where you have to give both men credit for accepting the assignment, as Tsarukyan is fighting backwards in the rankings despite tremendous overall success, while Moicano is happily stepping in with a young, dangerous talent in hopes of landing an even bigger assignment next time out.
What a tremendous way to close out April’s action inside the Octagon.
