UFC line-up for tonight (May 22, 2021): Who are the fighters involved in the event?
The UFC is back on its home turf this weekend for another stacked Fight Night card.
After an immensely successful UFC 262 pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas, the promotion will host UFC Fight Night 188 at UFC APEX arena this Saturday, May 22, 2021.
The night's event will be headlined by No.3 and No.4-ranked bantamweights Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt.
Former 135-lbs champion Cody Garbrandt broke his three-fight skid last June with a knockout win over Raphael Assuncao. He will look to register another win at UFC Fight Night 188. Rob Font is on a three-fight winning streak after beating Sergio Pettis, Ricky Simon and Marlon Moraes in his previous three outings.
Also Read: 5 things every fan needs to know about Cody Garbrandt
The night's co-main event will see former women's strawweight champion Carla Esparza take on Yan Xiaonan in another contest between the No.3 and No.4-ranked contenders.
Several fights on the May 22 card saw changes due to injuries or other issues.
A women's bantamweight clash between Stephanie Egger and Sarah Alper was supposed to serve as the night's first bout. Lupita Godinez replaced Egger after the latter pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. However, the fight has now been completely scrapped because Godinez could not get her visa in time.
Newcomer Askar Mozharov, who was briefly scheduled to compete against Ben Rothwell in the absence of his original opponent, Philipe Lins, also had to withdraw due to visa issues. He is now being replaced by fellow rookie Chris Barnett.
Rafael Alves, who was 11.5 pounds over the featherweight limit for his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis, will feature in the prelims against Damir Ismagulov.
Also Read: What time is the UFC Fight Tonight (May 22, 2021)?
UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt - Full Fight Card
Following are the names of all the fighters on the preliminary and main card for UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt or UFC Fight Night 188.
Main Card
Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt (Men's bantamweight) - Main Event
Yan Xiaonan vs. Carla Esparza (Women's strawweight) - Co-main Event
Justin Tafa cs. Hared Vanderaa (Men's heavyweight)
Felicia Spencer vs. Norma Dumont (Women's featherweight)
David Dvorak vs. Raulian Paiva (Men's flyeweight)
Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (Men's middleweight)
Preliminary Card
Ricardo Ramos vs. Bill Algeo (Men's featherweight)
Ben Rothwell vs. Chris Barnett (Men's heavyweight)
Court McGee vs. Claudio Silva (Men's welterweight)
Bruno Silva vs. Victor Rodriguez (Men's flyweight)
Josh Culibao vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (Men's featherweight)
Yancy Medeiros vs. Damir Hadzovic (Men's lightweight)
Rafael Alves vs. Damir Ismagulov (Men's lightweight)