UFC announces entire fight card for March 16 event, pits highly ranked heavyweights against each other for main-event clash
The UFC hit the ground running with their stacked cards for the first quarter and recently announced that a heavyweight clash will headline their Fight Night event, which is scheduled to take place at the Apex on March 16.
The main event will see two top-ranked heavyweight battle for positioning in the rankings as No.11 ranked Marcin Tybura attempts to crack into the top-10 when he takes on No. 8 ranked Tai Tuivasa. The Australian will be looking to snap his three fight losing skid, while the 38-year-old will be looking to bounce back from his loss against current interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
The co-main event is expected to be equally as exciting as Thiago Moises returns to the octagon for the first time since his Fight of the Night with Benoit Saint-Denis to take on Brad Riddell. Similar to the main event, both lightweights are currently experiencing a setback in their respective careers.
Moises lost a second round TKO to Saint-Denis, while the former kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter is on a three fight losing skid that includes losses to top-ranked lightweights including Rafael Fiziev, Jalin Turner, and Renato Moicano. Both fighters have a lot to prove as a big win could get them back on track in a talented 155-pound division.
There are a number of female bouts featuring top-ranked bantamweights scheduled to take place. No.7 ranked bantamweight Pannie Kianzad will take on No. 9 ranked Macy Chiasson, while No.14 ranked bantamweight Josiane Nunes takes on No.15 ranked bantamweight Chelsea Chandler. In addition, a strawweight bout between Jaqueline Amorim and Cory McKenna is also scheduled.
The upcoming UFC Fight Night card on March 16 will have no shortage of notable fighters as other bouts on the card include Ovince Saint Preux vs. Kennedy Nzechukqu, Gerald Meerschaert vs. Bryan Barberena, Josh Culibao vs. Danny Silva, Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian, Bryan Battle vs. Ange Loosa, Jafael Filho vs. Ode' Osbourne, and Charalampos Grigoriou vs. Chad Anheliger.
Depending on what transpires at the event, it will be interesting to see whether the UFC will ask some of the winners to make a quick turnaround as they begin to plan their first event in Saudi Arabia this coming June.