Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is finally going away from the Apex for a “Fight Night” event to stage UFC Atlantic City inside Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., featuring a women’s Flyweight bout between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot. In the co-main event, Vicente Luque battles Joaquin Buckley in a Welterweight scrap.
What’s Hot:
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The women’s Flyweight division will take center stage for the second straight week as Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot collide in what should be a title eliminator bout to see who gets the next shot at the belt, which is currently in the hands of Alexa Grasso. Of course, the victor will have to wait for a minute for their potential title shot because Grasso is set to coach the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite Valentina Shevchenko, which means a long waiting period. That said, the winner of this fight could very well get matched up with Rose Namajunas. But that is putting the cart before the horse, they still need to handle more pressing business at the moment, which is to get a win tonight.
This fight is so evenly matched and could be one of the best bouts in women’s MMA in sometime, title fights included. Blanchfield is currently ranked No. 2 in the division, which she earned by winning all six of her fights under the UFC banner, extending her win streak to nine, and upping her overall record to 12-1. Along the way, “Cold Blooded” has taken out the likes of Jessica Andrade, Molly McCann and more recently Taila Santos, who she defeated in Aug. 2023. Blanchfield has proven to be the real deal and a legit threat to the 125-pound throne, regardless of who is sitting on it if her times comes to challenge for it.
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As for Fiorot, she is just as hot, winning 11-straight fights including starting off her UFC career with six straight wins, as well. In fact, her biggest win during that span came against the aforementioned Rose Namajunas, spoiling “Thug Rose’s” 125-pound debut in Sept 2023. Now, the No. 3 ranked fighter in the division is out to prove she is worthy of a title shot with a win over a dominant foe who has championship aspirations of her own.
What’s Not:
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Chidi Njokuani has lost three straight fights inside the Octagon while Rhys McKee is coming off a loss to Ange Loosa, yet UFC matchmakers felt this 170-pound bout deserved a spot on the main card. Call me crazy, but the Loopy Godinez vs. Virna Jandiroba fight probably deserved that spot, seeing as how both ladies are on nice win streaks at the moment and not fighting for their UFC lives.
Original Card vs. Actual Card:
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Sean Brady was initially slated to headline the event against Vicente Luque but was ultimately scrapped after Brady bowed out of consideration to tend to a lingering injury, though he claims he never signed on the dotted line to begin with. That paved the way for Blanchfield and Fiorot to take over headlining duties. Pat Sabatini withdrew from his scheduled fight against Nate Landwehr for undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by Jamall Emmers. Landwehr recently had his three-fight win streak snapped by Dan Ige at UFC 289, while Emmers was last seen defeating Dennis Buzukja via technical knockout in Nov. 2023.
Injuries:
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Aside from Brady’s injury, Dominick Reyes was unable to make his scheduled Light Heavyweight bout against Carlos Ulberg with his own health issues. As a result, Ulberg was then paired up against Alonzo Menifield, but the fight was moved to UFC St. Louis on May 11.
New Blood:
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Despite losing his fight on the Contender Series back in Sept. 2023, Angel Pacheco will get the opportunity to show his stuff at least once more when he makes his UFC debut against Caolan Loughran, who came up short in his own UFC debut against Taylor Lapilus six months ago. Prior to that, he started off his MMA career with eight straight wins.
Ibo Aslan earned his spot on the UFC roster by scoring an emphatic first-round knockout win on the Contender Series, erasing Paulo Renato Jr. back in Aug. 2023. “The Last Ottoman” is on a four-fight, first-round knockout win streak. In fact, all 12 of Aslan’s win have come by via knockout, with 11 of them coming in the very first round. He has proven to be an aggressive fighter, and he will be looking to add to the reputation when he battles Anton Turkalj, who has really struggled during his time with the promotion, losing all three of his fights. One more loss could lead to his release.
Connor Matthews is another Contender Series alum who is looking to make a splash from the get-go. The submission specialist will face off against Dennis Bazukja, who is in desperate need of a win after losing his first two outings with the promotion.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
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Both Andre Petroski and Jacob Malkoun came up short in their previous bouts, losing to Michel Pereira and Cody Brundage, respectively. Prior to his defeat, Petroski had won five straight, while Malkoun has only managed to rack up a 3-3 record under the UFC banner.
Undefeated (8-0, 2-0 UFC) women’s Flyweight contender, Victoria Dudakova m, will attempt to secure her ninth-straight win when she goes toe-to-toe against Melissa Gatto. This is some questionable matchmaking, really, seeing as how Dudakova is on a hot streak while Gatto has lost two straight.
Herbert Burns got off to a blistering start to his UFC run, winning his first two fights via stoppage, knocking out Nate Landwehr in the first round and forcing Even Dunham to tap to a rear-naked choke in under two minutes. Since then, however, Burns has been stopped in two straight fights, and now finds himself in a must-win situation against Julio Arce, who has alternated wins and losses for the past six years. That will never get him ranked, so he needs to step up and be more consistent when it comes to picking up wins.
Loopy Godinez has really found her groove as of late, winning her last four fights, including big wins over Cynthia Calvillo and Tabatha Ricci. The Mexican-born fighter has one of her toughest tests to date against Virna Jandiroba, who is coming off back-to-back wins over Angela Hill and Marina Rodriguez. Jandiroba is currently ranked No. 5 at Strawweight, while Godinez will attempt to steal that spot from her all the way from the No. 10 position.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
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Chris Weidman, like many of the great former champions before him, is on an obvious downward decline. It’s one that seemingly happened overnight. He started his career off at 13-0, defeating Anderson Silva in back-to-back title fights, defending it twice against Lyoto Machida and then Vitor Belfort before going on a downward trend. After getting knocked out by Luke Rockhold in his fourth attempt to defend the title, he has since gone 2-6, which includes his current two-fight skid. Nearing 40 years of age, a rejuvenated comeback attempt and run at the title is highly unlikely, especially since the division is only getting younger. He will attempt to get back on track against another struggling Middleweight in Bruno Silva, who is also on a two-fight skid and has lost four of his last five. A loss will be devastating for either man, but if “All American” loses again — especially via knockout — his career could come to an end either willingly or by Dana White’s advice, which the brash head honcho is accustomed to doing if a longtime veteran continues to lose.
Interest Level: 6/10
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In the co-main event, Vicente Luque will attempt to secure his first back-to-back win streak in three years when he battles hard-hitting Welterweight comrade, Joaquin Buckley. Luque is coming off a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos, which snapped his two-fight skid. Buckley, meanwhile, has won two straight and is looking to crash the Top 15 by taking out the No. 11 ranked fighter in the division. The winner of this fight could be in a line for a bigger fight next.
In Middleweight action, Nursulton Ruziboev will battle Sedriques Dumas. Winner of nine straight, Ruizboev made a splash in his UFC debut by knocking out Brunno Ferreira in 77 seconds (highlights). Dumas, on the other hand, stumbled out of the gates by losing his UFC debut, but has since rallied to win two straight.
One of the more intriguing bouts of the night is a Featherweight pairing between Bill Algeo and Kyle Nelson. Both men have won two straight, and are eyeing their first three-fight win streak inside the Octagon. This fight could very well steal the show.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC Atlantic City Fight Card:
UFC Atlantic City Main Event On ESPN/ESPN+:
125 lbs.: Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot
UFC Atlantic City Main Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Vicente Luque vs. Joaquin Buckley
185 lbs.: Chris Weidman vs. Bruno Silva
185 lbs.: Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Sedriques Dumas
145 lbs.: Bill Algeo vs. Kyle Nelson
185 lbs.: Chidi Njokuani vs. Rhys McKeeUFC Atlantic City ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Nate Landwehr vs. Jamall Emmers
115 lbs.: Virna Jandiroba vs. Loopy Godinez
145 lbs.: Julio Arce vs. Herbert Burns
145 lbs.: Dennis Buzukja vs. Connor Matthews
205 lbs.: Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj
125 lbs.: Victoria Dudakova vs. Melissa Gatto
135 lbs.: Angel Pacheco vs. Caolan Loughran
185 lbs.: Andre Petroski vs. Jacob Malkoun*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
Remember that Boxebet will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Atlantic City fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Atlantic City: “Blanchfield vs. Fiorot” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
