UFC Tonight (March 23, 2024): What time is the upcoming event?
UFC on ESPN: Ribas vs. Namajunas, also known as UFC Vegas 89 is set to take place this weekend on March 23 at the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
The card will be headlined by a womens' flyweight clash between Amanda Ribas and Rose Namajunas. Also featuring on the card are the likes of Billy Quarantillo, who will face Youssef Zalal, as well as a heavyweight bout between Karl Williams and Justin Tafa.
Ribas heads into the bout ranked No.8 in the women's flyweight division, having previously fought at strawweight in her last fight. She defeated Luana Pinheiro via a spinning wheel kick TKO and earned a performance bonus for her efforts.
For Namajunas, the former two-time strawweight champ is making just her second appearance at 125lbs, after losing her debut in the division last year. She suffered a unanimous decision defeat Manon Fiorot.
Despite the mixed record of both women in recent years, Ribas and Namajunas have consistently spoken during fight week about making a statement. They each believe a convincing win could even see them fight for the UFC title next.
For fans interested in watching all of the fights on offer in tonight's card, the event will be available live for those in the United States with a ESPN+ subscription. For viewers in the UK, it will be available TNT Sports.
The action will then kick off with the preliminary card, which starts at 7PM ET (4PM PT). The main event is then expected to begin at 10PM ET (7PM PT).
For a full list of the main card, check out the tweet here:
Rose Namajunas explains decision to move upto UFC flyweight division
Rose Namajunas recently provided some details as to her reasoning for making the switch and moving up a division.
'Thug' is a former two-time women's strawweight champion and rose to star status after her clashes against Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk between 2017 and 2021. The American faced both women on two occasions each and impressively picked up the victory in all four bouts.
Namajunas went on to lose the title to Carlza Esparza via split-decision, however, and she has since opted to try and conquer the womens' flyweight division.
Although her debut didn't go to plan, speaking to the media this week ahead of her bout, Namajunas believes she will find success at 125lbs. She said:
"I mean, I just think like, health-wise, to me, it's just not a healthy thing [cut to 115lbs] oto do for me at this point. I know that I could keep pushing through it. My mind got a lot stronger with cutting the weight. But I could tell my body was definitely not liking that as much. I could tell from my last strawweight cut."
Catch Namajunas' comments here (6:33):