UFC is heading back to Kentucky for the first time in more than a decade.
On Wednesday, the world’s leading MMA promoter announced it will return to Louisville, Ky., for a Fight Night card on June 8 at the KFC Yum! Center.
This will be the only the third UFC event ever to take place in Kentucky. The first was UFC on Versus 3 in 2011, also at the KFC Yum! Center, headlined by a welterweight fight between Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann. The most recent event in the Bluegrass State took place back in 2013 at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 in Fort Campbell, headlined by a middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Rafael Natal.
While the card does not currently have a main event, a number of matchups have already been reported, including a bantamweight bout between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios, a welterweight contest between Punahele Soriano and Miguel Baeza, a strawweight fight between Eduarda Moura and Denise Gomes, a middleweight tilt between Julian Marquez and Zach Reese, and a bantamweight fight between Cody Stamann and Taylor Lapilus.
The UFC’s upcoming return to Louisville, Ky. has 13 fights booked already with a main event still to be determined.
The event, which takes place at the KFC Yum Center on June 8, serves as the UFC’s first card in Louisville in 13 years with the last card there headlined by Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann. While rumors have swirled about the headliner for the upcoming UFC Louisville card, nothing is official just yet.
In the meantime, the promotion announced a number of matchups booked for the card including two-time light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes making his long awaited return to action against Dustin Jacoby.
A top contender at 205 pounds for most of his career, Reyes looks to bounce back after dropping his past four fights in a row, including a knockout loss to Ryan Spann in his most recent outing in 2022. Following a long layoff, Reyes returns in June to face the experienced kickboxer Jacoby, who also looks to get back on track after he fell to Alonzo Menifield this past December.
Teen sensation Raul Rosas Jr. also returns on the UFC Louisville card for his rebooked matchup against Ricky Turcios. The bantamweights were originally scheduled to meet back in February but Rosas fell ill just before walking to the octagon so the fight was scrapped.
Now they’ll clash in June instead.
Veteran lightweight Thiago Moises also returns on the card as he faces Ludovit Klein while recent Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona takes on Jesse Butler at 135 pounds.
Here’s the full 13 fight card announced by the UFC on Thursday with a main event still to be determined
Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby
Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov Headlines UFC Louisville On June 8, Dominick Reyes Returns
UFC Louisville’s 185lbs main event is set.
Michel Pereira is getting his step up in competition.
MMA Fighting confirmed today that a Middleweight contender bout between No. 11-ranked, Roman Dolidze (12-3), and No. 13-ranked Pereira (31-11, 2 no contests) has been added to UFC Louisville on June 8, 2024. Eurosport was first to report the match up.
The fight will be pivotal for each fighter for different reasons. Brazil’s Pereira extended his winning streak to eight when he scored a 54-second guillotine choke victory (watch highlights) over Ihor Potieria at UFC 301 this past weekend (May 4, 2024). Dolidze, on the other hand, will look to snap a two-fight losing skid against Pereira after setbacks to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.
The UFC’s return to Kentucky after over a decade has its main event.
After the promotion announced the full card earlier, the headliner is now in place and it will feature middleweight contenders with Jared Cannonier set to take on Nassourdine Imavov.
The five-round bout between Cannonier (17-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Imavov (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will go down at UFC Fight Night on June 8 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims streamed on ESPN+.
Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin.
Cannonier, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, will attempt to continue his run of success after winning four of his past five fights. The 40-year-old has beaten Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland during that stretch, with his lone blemish coming in a title fight to then-champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 in July 2022.
He will have to defend his spot against No. 11-ranked Imavov, who has just one loss in his past six fights dating back to July 2021. The 29-year-old most recently competed in February, where he earned a main event win over Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night 235.
With the current June 8 fight card includes:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- Roman Dolidze vs. Michel Pereira
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Dominick Reyes
- Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
- Miguel Baeza vs. Puna Soriano
- Ludovit Klein vs. Thiago Moises
- Carlos Prates vs. Charlie Radtke
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
- John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos
- Jesse Butler vs. Brad Katona
- Denise Gomes vs. Eduarda Moura
- Taylor Lapilus vs. Cody Stamann
- Julian Marquez vs. Zach Reese
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Andrea Lee
- Rayanne Amanda vs. Puja Tomar
15 fights !!.
Props to Michel Pereira for the quick turnaround,
8 fight win streak
