Islam Makhachev’s march towards a UFC lightweight title shot will see the Dagestani clash with short-notice replacement Bobby Green this Saturday.
The pair square off in a Fight Night main event that was originally set to pit Beneil Dariush against Makhachev, whose childhood friend and cornerman Khabib Nurmagomedov previously held the belt that his fellow Dagestani is pursuing.
An injury to Dariush has led to Green stepping in, however, just two weeks after the American last fought and beat Nasrat Haqparast via decision.
Makhachev (21-1) has not lost since suffering the sole defeat of his professional career in 2015, while Green (29-12) is on a two-fight win streak and produced a stellar striking display to beat Haqparast this month.
Here’s all you need to know about this weekend’s card.
When is it?
The event will take place on Saturday 26 February at the UFC’s Apex institute in Las Vegas.
The prelims are scheduled to begin at 9pm GMT (1pm PT, 3pm CT, 4pm ET), with the main card following at 12am GMT (4pm PT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET) on Sunday morning.
How can I watch it?
The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
Odds
Makhachev – 1/8
Green – 5/1
Via Betfair.
Full card
Main card
Islam Makhachev vs Bobby Green (catchweight – 160lbs)
Misha Cirkunov vs Wellington Turman (middleweight)
Ji Yeon Kim vs Priscila Cachoeira (women’s flyweight)
Arman Tsarukyan vs Joel Alvarez (lightweight)
Armen Petrosyan vs Gregory Rodrigues (middleweight)
Prelims
Zhu Rong vs Ignacio Bahamondes (lightweight)
Josiane Nunes vs Wu Yanan (women’s bantamweight)
Terrance McKinney vs Fares Ziam (lightweight)
Jinh Yu Frey vs Hannah Goldy (women’s strawweight)
Alejandro Perez vs Jonathan Martinez (bantamweight)
Ramiz Brahimaj vs Micheal Gillmore (welterweight)
Victor Altamirano vs Carlos Hernandez (flyweight)
