UFC 295 is just a few days away and fight fans can’t wait for this event. This PPV will happen on November 12, 2023, and will be the penultimate big-scale UFC event of the year. The year will be wrapped up with UFC 296 which will feature Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington as the main event. Furthermore, Dana White has just announced three massive title fights to kick off the year 2024.
Fans already have their hands full with the two remaining PPVs for the year but ‘Uncle Dana’ decided to serve them with more amazing fights. The UFC president has announced the main events for the first three PPVs of 2024.
— UFC (@ufc) November 6, 2023
UFC 297 will take place in Toronto in January and will be headlined by a match between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight championship. However, this one comes as a shocker since MMA fans were expecting Khamzat to get the title shot before Dricus. Furthermore, this will be the first title defense for Strickland after his historic win over Israel Adesanya.
In February, the UFC 298 card will be headlined by a featherweight title match between Alexander Volaknovski and Ilia Topuria. This match was supposed to happen in January but Volk’s short-notice fight against Islam Makhachev must have changed the plans. Furthermore, the undefeated Topuria is coming off a huge win over No.6 ranked, Josh Emmett. However, the featherweight champion is coming off a KO loss against Islam Makhachev.
The final match announced by Dana White was the bantamweight title match between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. This match will be the main event for UFC 299 which will happen in March. Furthermore, this rematch will be the first title defense for Suga Sean. He will be looking to take revenge for his only loss in MMA.
Three major mistakes made by the UFC
While the matches for 2024 look very exciting there are a few things that the UFC did wrong. These three mistakes can cause huge problems for the UFC.
Aljamain Sterling should get a rematch – Aljamain Sterling has to be one of the most disrespected fighters of all time. His DQ victory over Petr Yan has scarred his legacy in a very bad way. Even after having an amazing record of 23-4-0, fans considered him a paper champion.
However, he should get a rematch for his bantamweight title. Most of the champions in the UFC get an immediate rematch after they lose their titles but it is not the same for Aljo. When he lost his title to Suga Sean, fans were expecting an instant rematch but now, he is not even in the title conversation.
Furthermore, the UFC is giving No.6 ranked Chito Vera a title fight over the No.1 ranked former champion. This is definitely a wrong move made by the UFC.
Alexander Volkanovski is fighting too early – Volk has never shied away from a challenge. Furthermore, he stepped up on very short notice to replace Charles Oliveira against the UFC lightweight champion. However, things did not go in Volkanovski’s favor as he was finished in the first round.
Volk vs Topuria in February 👊 #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/FQ5AtaX0kv
— The Punch Report 👊 (@ThePunchReport_) November 6, 2023
Furthermore, this was the first time Volk was finished in the UFC. Given that he was KO’ed in October, it is very early for him to fight in February. In addition to this, Ilia Topuria is a young and hungry competitor making it a risky fight for Volkanovski. He should have taken a long break before returning to the octagon.
Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveria rematch was not announced – One of the biggest mistakes made by the UFC was to not announce the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. The two fighters were supposed to fight at UFC 294 but ‘Do Bronx’ had to pull out due to an eye injury.
Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira II will NOT headline UFC 297 in Toronto on Jan. 20, Dana White told @bokamotoESPN.
As of now, Oliveira does appear to be the most likely 155 challenger. pic.twitter.com/YtXguDONqj
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 5, 2023
Furthermore, fans were expecting the official announcement for this match. It was wrong on the part of the UFC for not booking the anticipated rematch for the lightweight championship.