THRILLING FEATHERWEIGHT BOUT BETWEEN
(#9) EDSON BARBOZA AND (#10) GIGA CHIKADZE
HEADLINES AT UFC® APEX IN LAS VEGAS
FEATURED BOUTS:
THE RETURN OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALS
BRYAN BATTLE vs. GILBERT URBINA
RICKY TURCIOS vs. BRADY HIESTAND
UFC® returns to UFC APEX in Las Vegas with a striking fans’ dream fight, as No. 9 ranked featherweight contender Edson Barboza clashes with No. 10 Giga Chikadze. Also on the card, The Return of the Ultimate Fighter middleweight and bantamweight tournament winners will be crowned.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BARBOZA vs CHIKADZE will take place Saturday, August 28 from UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The main card will be available on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. The prelims will kick off exclusively on ESPN+ in English and Spanish at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
KO artist Barboza (22-9, fighting out of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has been thrilling fans for years with highlight-reel finishes. Throughout his UFC career, he has delivered memorable victories against Beneil Dariush, Terry Etim and, most recently, Shane Burgos. Barboza now aims to keep his momentum going by becoming the first fighter to stop Chikadze in the UFC.
Rising contender and former kickboxer Chikadze (13-2, fighting out of Tbilisi, Georgia) quickly climbed the featherweight ranks upon joining the UFC roster in 2019. Since then, he is undefeated in the Octagon with wins over Cub Swanson, Jamey Simmons and Omar Morales. Chikadze now goes for the biggest win of his career to continue his ascent up the 145-pound ladder.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BARBOZA vs CHIKADZE will also feature the exciting finals of The Return of the Ultimate Fighter. The groundbreaking reality series made its triumphant return in June, featuring UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 2 ranked contender Brian Ortega as coaches.
The Return of the Ultimate Fighter will conclude with an all Team Volkanovski finale. The final middleweight bout will see Bryan Battle (5-1, fighting out of Charlotte, N.C.) take on Gilbert Urbina (6-1, fighting out of Weslaco, Texas), who is replacing Team Ortega’s Tresean Gore due to injury. Also, Ricky Turcios (10-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) faces Brady Hiestand (5-1, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) at bantamweight.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- Kevin Lee (18-6, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) returns to welterweight to take on rising star Daniel Rodriguez (15-2, fighting out of Alhambra, Calif.)
- Team Ortega middleweights collide when Andre Petroski (5-1, fighting out of Springfield Township, Pennsylvania) faces Micheal Gillmore (6-3, fighting out of Charlotte, Michigan)
- Makhmud Muradov (25-6, fighting out of Bukhara, Uzbekistan) looks for another highlight-reel finish when he faces gritty veteran Gerald Meerschaert (32-14, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) in a middleweight bout
- Antonio Braga Neto (9-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) intends to stop Abdul Razak Alhassan (10-4, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) from reaching his first win at middleweight
- Fan favorite Sam Alvey (33-15-1 1NC, fighting out of Temecula, Calif.) returns against Wellington Turman (16-5, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) in a middleweight bout
- Dustin Jacoby (14-5-1, fighting out of Englewood, Colo.) faces Darren Stewart (12-7 2NC, fighting out of London, England) in an exciting matchup of light heavyweight strikers
- Featherweight prospects collide when Jamall Emmers (18-5, fighting out of Redlands, Calif.) squares off with Pat Sabatini (14-3, fighting out of Philadelphia, Penn.)
Visit the UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage.
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About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 155 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
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ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 14.9 million subscribers.
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads).
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
