Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
The UFC held its final event of 2021 this past Saturday and will be off until mid-January, so the promotion did not announce or finalize any new fights this week. The only change in its upcoming schedule is a few bouts being rescheduled for different events, which can be seen below.
Bellator, on the other hand, has planned a pair of championship headliners to bring in the new year. Ryan Bader and Valentin Moldavsky meet in a heavyweight title unification at Bellator 273 in January. Bader returns to the division for the first time in over two years after an extended run at light heavyweight and attempts to make his second defense of the championship. The first defense against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 ended in a No Contest after an accidental eye poke from the champion put a stop to the action in the first round. Moldavsky has remained unbeaten under the Bellator banner and earned the interim heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision over Timothy Johnson at Bellator 261 in June.
In February, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and No. 1 contender Austin Vanderford will share the Octagon at the 3Arena in Dublin. Mousasi won the then-vacant world championship with a unanimous decision over Douglas Lima at Bellator 250. He went on to successfully defend it against John Salter, who he finished via third-round technical knockout in August. Vanderford moved to a perfect 11-0 and earned his championship opportunity by defeating Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259 earlier this year.
UFC Fight Night — January 15
Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry — bantamweight
UFC 271 — February 12
Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier — middleweight
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell — flyweight
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator 273 — January 29
Ryan Bader vs. Valentin Moldavsky — heavyweight
Darrion Caldwell vs. Enrique Barzola — bantamweight
Sabah Homasi vs. Jaleel Willis — welterweight
Bellator Dublin — February 25
Gegard Mousasi vs. Austin Vanderford — middleweight
Peter Queally vs. Kane Mousah — lightweight
Sinead Kavanagh vs. Leah McCourt — women’s featherweight
Charlie Leary vs. Davy Gallon — lightweight
Junior Morgan vs. Darragh Kelly — lightweight
Brian Moore vs. TBA — bantamweight
Announced RIZIN fights:
RIZIN 33 — December 31
Rena Kubota vs. Si Woo Park — women’s atomweight
Kota Miura vs. Yushi — featherweight
Kazuma Sone vs. Shinobu Ota — bantamweight
Announced Invicta FC fights:
Invicta FC 45 — January 12
Alesha Zappitella vs. Jéssica Delboni — women’s atomweight
Claire Guthrie vs. Lauren Mueller — women’s bantamweight
Courtney King vs. Ramona Pascual — women’s featherweight
Hailey Cowan vs. Monica Franco — women’s bantamweight
Hilarie Rose vs. Emily Whitmire — women’s strawweight
Maria Jose Favela vs. Sarah Kleczka — women’s bantamweight
About the author
