Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
The UFC is preparing for the first quarter of 2022 with some interesting fights. The promotion either announced or finalized five of them this week, and a potential No. 1 contender tilt in the lightweight division has been confirmed.
Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev have agreed to meet in a five-round headliner of an upcoming fight night event scheduled for February. Both men enter the fight on extended win streaks and are ranked in the top of their division at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. Dariush made two Octagon appearances this year and took home a split decision over Carlos Diego Ferreira and a unanimous decision against Tony Ferguson. Makhachev kept busy as well and finished Drew Dober, Thiago Moisés and Dan Hooker, all by submission.
A minor change was made to the final Bellator card of the year as Spike Carlyle was tapped to fill in for Ricardo Seixas against Dan Moret at Bellator 272 this Friday. Due to its short-notice nature, Moret vs. Carlyle will be contested at a 160-pound catchweight.
UFC Fight Night — December 4
Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis — middleweight
Jared Vanderaa vs. Azamat Murzakanov — heavyweight
UFC Fight Night — February 26
Beneil Dariush vs. Islam Makhachev — lightweight
Hannah Goldy vs. Jinh Yu Frey — women’s strawweight
UFC Fight Night — March 5
Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell — featherweight
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator 272 — December 3
Dan Moret vs. Spike Carlyle — catchweight (160 lbs.)
Announced Cage Warriors fights:
Cage Warriors 131 — December 10
Adam Cullen vs. Mikail Bayram — lightweight
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