UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation, in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), returns to the UAE capital with a light heavyweight headliner as former champion and No. 1 ranked Magomed Ankalaev takes on No. 5 ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. on Saturday, 25 July, at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: ANKALAEV vs ROUNTREE JR. tickets go on sale at 12 p.m. GST on Wednesday, June 3 via Ticketmaster.ae. Early access to tickets will be available from 11 a.m. GST on Tuesday, June 2, for those who registered their interest.
Ankalaev (21-2-1, fighting out of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia) returns to the Octagon® for the first time since losing the light heavyweight title to Alex Pereira at UFC® 320 last October, a result that ended a seven-year unbeaten run inside the Octagon. Before that setback, the 33-year-old had defeated Pereira to claim the belt at UFC® 313, after wins over Anthony Smith, Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic on his road to the title. Currently ranked No. 1, Ankalaev is targeting a decisive win on his return to set up another shot at the belt.
Rountree Jr. (15-7, 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada) enters as the underdog with the chance to spoil Ankalaev’s return. The 36-year-old former title challenger made headlines last June in Baku, defeating former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill by unanimous decision in his second straight main event, and a win against Ankalaev would likely put him back in title contention.
In the co-main event, No.2 ranked UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov (20-1, fighting out of Kizilyurt, Dagestan, Russia) and No.9 ranked David Martinez (14-1, fighting out of Mexico City, Mexico) square off in a pivotal divisional matchup. Nurmagomedov bounced back from his title loss to Merab Dvalishvili with back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Mario Bautista in October 2025 and Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC® 324 in January, while Martinez has gone 3-0, demonstrating he can deliver a fast finish and battle for three hard rounds to earn victories over established opponents.
Additional bouts on the card include:
• Heavyweights Gokhan Saricam (12-2, fighting out of Istanbul, Turkey) and Louie Sutherland (11-5, fighting out of London, England) face off with both fighters coming off their first UFC wins.
• Magomed Tuchalov (6-0, fighting out of Dubai, UAE by way of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia) makes his UFC debut against Brendson Ribeiro (17-10, 1 NC, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) in a light heavyweight bout.
• No. 10 ranked flyweight Steve Erceg (14-4, fighting out of Perth, Western Australia) takes on Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov (19-3, fighting out of Karshi, Uzbekistan).
• Ranked heavyweights collide as No. 8 Rizvan Kuniev (14-3-1, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) meets No. 10 Tyrell Fortune (18-3, fighting out of Tempe, Arizona).
• Uran Satybaldiev (10-1, fighting out of Osh, Kyrgyzstan) faces UFC veteran Dustin Jacoby (22-9-1, fighting out of Denver, Colorado) in a light heavyweight matchup.
• No. 13 ranked heavyweight Valter Walker (15-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) takes on Thomas Petersen (11-4, fighting out of Webster, Minnesota) in a heavyweight bout.
• Ismael Bonfim (20-6, fighting out of Brasília, Brazil) meets Axel Sola (11-1-1, fighting out of Nice, France) in a lightweight contest.
• Welterweight Islam Dulatov (12-1, fighting out of Düsseldorf, Germany) takes on Wellington Turman (18-8, fighting out of Danbury, Connecticut).
For more information on UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: ANKALAEV vs ROUNTREE JR., visit: https://visitabudhabi.ae/en/events/ufc.
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