
Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
It’s fight week! UFC 273 is ahead of us, but before we get excited about such a stacked pay-per-view, let’s take a moment to appreciate the Cage Warriors doubleheader that kept us thoroughly entertained this past weekend. Cage Warriors 135 and 136 were great events, but the latter could be in the running for ‘Event of the Year’ easily. CW 136 had every fight end in a finish, including Christian Leroy Duncan’s title-winning flying knee TKO of Djati Melan and Manny Akpan’s capoeira-style kick that flattened Connor Hitchens.
Now, let’s look ahead to the updated schedule of the UFC and Bellator. The UFC either announced or finalized ten fights this week, and the recent additions are scattered across upcoming pay-per-view and Fight Night events.
Bellator has confirmed the next title defense for middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, who returns against undefeated prospect Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282 in June. In his most recent appearances, the ‘Dreamcatcher’ has successfully defended his title twice, finishing John Salter and Austin Vanderford by technical knockout at Bellator 264 and Bellator 275. Meanwhile, ’The Human Cheat Code’ has improved to 11-0 as a professional, with his unanimous decision win over the aforementioned Salter earning him his first championship opportunity under the Bellator banner.
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs TKZ — April 9
Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd — middleweight
Alexey Oleynik vs. Jared Vanderaa — heavyweight
UFC VEGAS 51: Luque vs Muhammad — April 16
Devin Clark vs. William Knight — heavyweight
UFC VEGAS 53: Font vs Vera — April 30
Andre Fili vs. Joanderson Sá Brito — featherweight
UFC VEGAS 54: Blachowicz vs Rakić — May 14
Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento — flyweight
UFC Fight Night: Ige vs Evloev — June 4
Joaquin Buckley vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov — middleweight
UFC 275: Teixeira vs Prochazka — June 11
Kyung Ho Kang vs. Saimon de Oliveira — bantamweight
UFC Fight Night: Marquez vs Turman — June 18
Julian Marquez vs. Wellington Turman — middleweight
Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn — middleweight
UFC Fight Night — June 25
Josh Parisian — Alan Baudot — heavyweight
Announced Bellator fights:
Bellator 278: Velasquez vs Carmouche — April 22
Erik Perez vs. Cee Jay Hamilton — bantamweight
Bellator 279: Cyborg vs Blencowe 2 — April 23
Janay Harding vs. Dayana Silva — women’s featherweight
Bellator Paris: Cyborg vs Kongo 2 — May 6
Lorenz Larkin vs. Anthony Adams — middleweight
Youcef Ouabbas vs. Mathieu Ducios — middleweight
Victor Verchere vs. Bourama Camara — welterweight
Bellator 282: Mousasi vs Eblen — June 24
Gegard Mousasi vs. Johnny Eblen — middleweight
Magomed Magomedov vs. Winner of Enrique Barzola vs. Josh Hill — bantamweight
Leandro Higo vs. Winner of Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello — bantamweight
Alejandra Lara vs. Ilara Joanne — women’s flyweight
Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights:
PFL 1 (2022 Regular Season) — April 20
Cory Hendricks vs. Clinton Williams — light heavyweight
PFL 2 (2022 Regular Season) — April 28
Bruno Cappelozza vs. Stuart Austin — heavyweight
Brendan Loughnane vs. Ryoji Kudo — featherweight
Ante Delija vs. Matheus Scheffel — heavyweight
Renan Ferreira vs. Jamelle Jones — heavyweight
Lance Palmer vs. Chris Wade — featherweight
Bubba Jenkins vs. Jo Sungbin — featherweight
Denis Goltsov vs. Sam Kei — heavyweight
Ali Isaev vs. Klidson Abreu — heavyweight
Sheymon Moraes vs. Boston Salmon — featherweight
Alejandro Flores vs. Saba Bolaghi — featherweight
Announced KSW fights:
KSW 69 — April 23
Sebastian Przybysz vs. Zuriko Jojua — bantamweight
Sara Luzar Smajić vs. Natalia Baczyńska — women’s flyweight
Paweł Polityło vs. Patryk Chrobak — bantamweight
Robert Ruchała vs. Michele Baiano — catchweight (150 lbs.)
Wojciech Kazieczko vs. Lubomir Lesák — featherweight
Maciej Kazieczko vs. Wilson Varela — lightweight
Artur Szczepaniak vs. Jivko Stoimenov — welterweight
Announced Invicta FC fights:
Invicta FC 47 — May 11
Emily Ducote vs. Alesha Zappitella — women’s strawweight
Courtney King vs. Chelsea Chandler — women’s featherweight
Lindsey VanZandt vs. Jillian DeCoursey — women’s atomweight
Lisa Verzosa vs. Serena DeJesus — women’s bantamweight
Janaisa Morandin vs. Liana Pirosin — women’s flyweight
Jennifer Chieng vs. Alyssa Linduska — women’s strawweight
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