Fights on Tap: Adesanya vs. Pereira among 23 UFC bouts announced

Get the Full StoryIsrael Adesanya at UFC 276. Photo by Carmen Mandato Getty Images

Check out all the fights announced over the past week in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions. Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

UFC Vegas 59 went under the radar, but it turned out to be one of the best events of the year, considering every fight ended in a finish. Jamahal Hill sent a message to the rest of the light heavyweight division with a fourth-round TKO of Thiago Santos. Geoff Neal became the first man to finish Vicente Luque with strikes in a near-perfect performance. A pair of The Ultimate Fighter winners were crowned, and the rest of the fights were finished in two rounds or less. With the event now over, we can look at what we have ahead of us on the upcoming schedule.

The UFC either announced or finalized 23 fights this week, and the promotion is returning to Madison Square Garden with one hell of a headliner.

Israel Adesanya knew it was coming. The Last Stylebender expected to fight a former foe in his next defense, which is now confirmed. Adesanya and Alex Pereira share the Octagon at UFC 281, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Since becoming the UFC middleweight champion, Adesanya has kept a firm grasp on his belt with five successful defenses. The City Kickboxing product recently dispatched Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision at UFC 276 this past July. And on that same night, Pereira earned his championship opportunity with a first-round KO of Sean Strickland. Of course, Adesanya and Pereira have fought twice before in kickboxing, with Po Atan winning by decision and third-round KO at Glory of Heroes and Glory of Heroes 7, respectively. If you have some time, please watch those matches before heading into this one in November.

UFC San Diego August 13

Angela Hill vs. Lupita Loopy Godinez women s catchweight 120 lbs. Hill vs. Godinez was already confirmed but shifted from UFC on ESPN 70 to UFC San Diego, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport Nederland

Youssef Zalal vs. Da Mon Blackshear bantamweightFirst rep. by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie

Ariane Lipski vs. Priscila Cachoeira women s flyweight Lipski vs. Cachoeira was already confirmed but shifted from UFC Vegas 59 to UFC San Diego, per Adriano Albuquerque and Evelyn Rodrigues of Combate

UFC Fight Night September 17

Mariya Agapova vs. Gillian Robertson women s flyweight

Aspen Ladd vs. Sara McMann women s bantamweight Ladd vs. McMann was already confirmed but shifted from UFC San Diego to UFC Vegas 60 per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting

UFC Fight Night October 1

John Casta eda vs. Daniel Santos bantamweightFirst rep. by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie

Randy Brown vs. Francisco Trinaldo welterweightFirst rep. by Brown on his OnlyFans and H T alexmma

Cody Garbrandt vs. Rani Yahya bantamweight Garbrandt vs. Yahya was already confirmed but shifted from UFC Vegas 58 to UFC on ESPN 69, per Alex Behunin of MMA Mania

UFC Fight Night October 15

Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Royval flyweightFirst rep. by Iridium Sports Agency

C.J. Vergara vs. Tatsuro Taira flyweightFirst rep. by John Morgan of The Underground

Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo women s flyweight Grasso vs. Araujo was already confirmed but shifted from UFC San Diego to UFC on ESPN 70, per Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes

UFC 280 October 22

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon flyweightFirst rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Nikita Krylov light heavyweight

UFC Fight Night October 29

Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcos Rog rio de Lima heavyweightFirst rep. by Raphael Marinho of Combate

Chase Hooper vs. Steve Garcia Jr. featherweightFirst rep. by Tudor Leonte of Sherdog

Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. light heavyweightFirst rep. by Iridium Sports Agency

Joseph Holmes vs. Jun Yong Park middleweightFirst rep. by Nolan King of MMA Junkie

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Jared Vanderaa heavyweightFirst rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes

UFC Fight Night November 5

Mario Bautista vs. Benito Lopez bantamweightFirst rep. by Iridium Sports Agency

UFC 281 November 12

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira middleweight

UFC Fight Night November 19

Ricky Turcios vs. Kevin Natividad bantamweightFirst rep. by Cooper Burke of Overtime Heroics

UFC Fight Night December 3

Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas women s flyweightFirst rep. by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes

Matt Schnell vs. Matheus Nicolau flyweightFirst rep. by Farah Hannoun and Nolan King of MMA Junkie

Announced Bellator fights:

Bellator 284 August 12

Isaiah Hokit vs. Nick Perez featherweight

Brett Bye vs. M,A, Yah II contractweight 175 lbs.

Austin Vanderford vs. Aaron Jeffery middleweightFirst rep. by Brett Okamoto of ESPN

Bellator 285 September 23

Kirill Sidelnikov vs. Kasim Aras heavyweight

Bellator 286 October 1

Patricio Pitbull Freire vs. Adam Borics featherweightFirst rep. by Brian Martin of Long Beach Press-Telegram

AJ McKee vs. Spike Carlyle lightweightFirst rep. by Brian Martin of Long Beach Press-Telegram

Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Richard Palencia bantamweight

Announced Cage Warriors fights:

Cage Warriors 142 August 13

Erick da Silva vs. Chris Bungard catchweight 161 lbs.

Cheriff Larossi vs. Scott Pedersen featherweight

Oban Elliott vs. Matthew Bonner welterweight

Milton Cabral vs. George McManus catchweight 174 lbs.

Announced KSW fights:

KSW 73 August 20

Patryk Likus vs. Pascal Hintzen featherweight

KSW 74 September 10

Phil de Fries vs. Ricardo Prasel heavyweight

Damian Janikowski vs. Tom Breese middleweight

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