This week is going to be amazing. In four days, we will witness one of the greatest cards in the history of MMA. The UFC 291 fight card is stacked with some of the wildest, most talented fighters in the world. Here is everything you need to know.
UFC 291 Fight Card: Everything You Need to Know
When you see that UFC fight card starts with a bout involving Miranda Maverick, you know that this will be a wild one. She is a fighter that could easily be in the main card of a Fight Night and this time, she is in the opening early prelim. And even more, she fought one month ago at UFC 289 too.
Following up is Matthew Semelsberger, who has become a fan favorite due to his crazy power and fun fights. He will face Uros Medic, who stepped up on short notice after Matthew's original opponent, Yohan Lainesse, had to cancel. The important note here is that Medic has not fought in 14 months.
After another change of opponents, UFC veteran Jake Matthews will fight newcomer Darrius Flowers after his opponent was pulled out of the fight. We're saying veteran because Matthews has been in the UFC since 2014 and he is still 28 years old today. This is the time for him to shine.
Later on, we have the legendary Derrick Lewis in a clash against another UFC veteran – Marcos Rogerio de Lima. We all know who Derrick is – nobody has more knockouts than him in the UFC. And he will face Rogerio, who has won four of his last five matches in the UFC, despite his old age.
Moving up to the main card… words cannot describe how excited we are for this one. The UFC 291 fight card has literally booked ten massive finishers for the main card.
You know how entertaining Kevin Holland is. He accepts fights with anyone, comes in to have fun and make some money, trash-talks, and he knows how to take a man out. He will face 35-year-old Michael Chiesa, who was once an incredible fighter but has not fought in two years. It will be interesting, nonetheless.
A few minutes later – Tony Ferguson vs Bobby Green. Oh boy! The legendary Tony Ferguson returns to the octagon in an attempt to end a long losing streak of five defeats against the wild Bobby Green. We all know how Tony's matches go – long and bloody. And Bobby Green has a lot to prove after three matches without a win in a row.
Last but not least, before we get to the main fights of the UFC 291 fight card, we have “Wonderboy” Stephen Thompson vs Michel Pereira. Despite his age (40), Thompson continues to be a factor in the Welterweight division and we have high expectations for this fight against Pereira, who is on a 5-fight winning streak right now. This is the time for Pereira to prove that he is worthy of the Top 10 in this division.
With this said, let's take a look at the most anticipated fights from this UFC fight card.
UFC 291 Co-Main and Main Events
• Lightweight: Dustin Poirier (29-7-0) vs Justin Gaethje (25-4-0) • Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1) vs Alex Pereira (7-2-0)
Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje and Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira… these two bouts alone are worth paying the money for this entire event. And the good thing is that we have 10 other ones before that. But let's get back to the main point.
Jan Blachowicz will return to the octagon for the first time since his Draw against Magomed Ankalaev in December. And he will face the former Middleweight champion – Alex Pereira. We all know that Pereira was never supposed to be in the middleweight division. He is simply too massive and it is unfairly obvious. Now, he makes a move to light heavyweight after losing the title to Adesanya.
This fight will be a thriller. And the stakes are high. Yes, the vacant title is not on the line but the winner here will 100% be the next contender to face Jiri Prochazka, once he returns from his injury.
And now, the main event. The fight that we have been wanting for years is Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje. These legends of the lightweight division last met in 2018 when Poirier won via TKO in the 4th round. To this day, this remains one of the wildest fights in UFC history. And this time, they will be fighting for a belt – the vacant BMF title, which will send them straight to a championship fight against Islam Machachev.
Tell us, is there anything that could make the UFC 291 fight card any better?
UFC 291 Main Card
• Lightweight: Dustin Poirier (29-7-0) vs Justin Gaethje (25-4-0) • Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1) vs Alex Pereira (7-2-0) • Welterweight: Stephen Thompson (17-6-1) vs Michel Pereira (28-11-0) • Lightweight: Tony Ferguson (26-8-0) vs Bobby Green (29-14-1) • Welterweight: Michael Chiesa (18-6-0) vs Kevin Holland (24-9-0)
UFC 291 Prelims
• Welterweight: Gabriel Bonfim (14-0-0) vs Trevin Giles (16-4-0) • Heavyweight: Derrick Lewis (26-11-0) vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1) • Middleweight: Roman Kopylov (10-2-0) vs Claudio Ribeiro (11-3-0) • Welterweight: Jacke Matthews (18-6-0) vs Darrius Flowers (12-5-1) • Flyweight: CJ Vergara (11-4-1) vs Vinicius Salvador (14-5-0) • Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger (11-5-0) vs Uros Medic (8-1-0) • Women's Flyweight: Miranda Maverick (13-5-0) vs Priscila Cachoeira (12-4-0)
With this said, what do you think about the UFC 291 fight card? We believe that this is the best card to date in 2023. Yes, the majority of the names on the UFC fight card tonight are older fighters, who have once been champions and are closer to the end of their careers. But those names, on the same card, one after the other – its absolutely exciting.
Vlad is a former amateur MMA fighter. After a series of injuries, he found a different way to connect with the sport and its fanbase - through writing. He's been covering everything-UFC for over 5 years on various platforms and has been part of the team at NYFights since early 2022.
