UFC Fight Night 235 Fight Card: Will This Card Exceed Our Low Expectations?

The UFC is back this weekend after a short break and we will kick off the incredible schedule for February with a regular Fight Night in the UFC APEX. Here is everything you need to know about the UFC Fight Night 235 fight card.

UFC Fight Night 235 Fight Card: Not the Most Exciting Event

A UFC event is always a reason to celebrate but this card will cardly impress you with big names. Should you still tune in to watch it? Definitely. Here's why.

UFC Fight Night 235 Co-Main and Main Events

• Middleweight: Roman Dolidze (12-2-0) vs Nassourdine Imavov (12-4-0)
• Lightweight: Renato Moicano (17-5-1) vs Drew Dober (27-12-0)

Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov both have to work hard to restart their careers after the upsets they suffered in 2023. Dolidze had an unbelievable 2022 when he amassed three consecutive wins with KOs but then made a single appearance in 2023 and lost to Marvin Vettori. Beating the Italian would have placed him among the potential contenders for 2024.

Imavov's experience in 2023 was even worse. He fought Sean Strickland in a match that was potentially going to give him a title shot against Adesanya. He lost. Then came the No-Contest against Chris Curtis after the two fighters clashed their heads and the referee had to stop the contest.

In the co-main event of the evening, we expect fireworks or at least a lot of blood. Drew Dober is a fan-favorite and he never has a dull fight. His opponent, Renato Moicano has amassed a record of 4-2 since moving to lightweight but has not fought since 2022. It will be interesting to see how he performs after this downtime. One way or another, we expect one of the two to win in a most devastating manner.

UFC Fight Night 235 Main Card

• Middleweight: Roman Dolidze (12-2-0) vs Nassourdine Imavov (12-4-0)
• Lightweight: Renato Moicano (17-5-1) vs Drew Dober (27-12-0)
• Welterweight: Randy Brown (17-5-0) vs Muslim Salikhov (19-4-0)
• Women's Flyweight: Viviane Araujo (12-5-0) vs Natalia Silva (16-5-1)
• Middleweight: Aliaskhab Khirziev (14-0-0) vs Makhmud Muradov (26-8-0)
• Welterweight: Gilbert Urbina (7-3-0) vs Charles Radtke (8-3-0)

Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov were supposed to fight a couple of months ago but Brown had to cancel due to illness. He is one of the hottest prospects in the Welterweight division after winning seven of his last nine scraps.

Muslim Salikhov joined the UFC at the late age of 33 and won the first five fights before losing two of the last three. He clearly is not the same machine at 39 and we do not see him having a bright future in the promotion. He is a brilliant fighter, no doubt, but few fighters have achieved much at such an age.

Next up on the UFC Fight Night 235 fight card, we have a huge bout between a high-ranked fighter and one of the hottest prospects. Viviane Araujo has been very inconsistent since she joined the UFC in 2019, winning six and losing four bouts. The 37-year-old veteran has been tasked with fighting a 26-year-old rising star. Natalia Silva won all four of her bouts since entering the roster and is already ranked in the Top 10 of the division.

Earlier on the card, we will see an intriguing bout between Aliaskhab Khirziev and Makhmud Muradov. There is hardly a more unlucky fighter than Khirziev as he received a contract after winning at DWCS in 2020 but has only fought once since then. He had four canceled bouts in 2021 and 2022 before making his debut with a brutal win over Denis Tiuliulin in March 2022. His only scheduled bout for 2023 was canceled too. We do not know a lot about him yet but he is undefeated with 14 professional wins. It will be interesting to see if he is actually ready for an experienced fighter like Muradov.

UFC Fight Night 235 Prelims

• Women's Strawweight: Molly McCann (13-6-0) vs Diana Belbita (15-7-0)
• Flyweight: Azat Maksum (17-0-0) vs Charles Johnson (13-6-0)
• Welterweight: Themba Gorimbo (11-4-0) vs Pete Rodriguez (5-1-0)
• Featherweight: Jeongyeong Lee (10-1-0) vs Blake Bilder (8-1-1)
• Women's Flyweight: Luana Carolina vs (9-4-0) Julija Stoliarenko (10-8-2)
• Lightweight: Landon Quinones (7-2-1) vs Marquel Mederos (8-1-0)
• Heavyweight: Thomas Petersen (1-0-0) vs Jamal Pogues (10-4-0)

The prelims of the UFC Fight Night 235 fight card are full of debutants and low-ranked fighters who have been given a chance to prove their worth. Overall, the most significant bout will be the featured match between Molly McCann and Diana Belbita. “Meatball” Molly looked like she was ready to conquer the world but lost her last couple of bouts in 2022 and 2023.

She has not been given many chances and there is a good reason why her bout was placed in the prelims – losing to Stoliarenko via submission is shocking. Both she and Diana have a lot to prove at the UFC APEX this weekend and even more importantly, this will be a rematch. The two met in 2019 in Belbita's debut and Molly won via decision.

Speaking of Julija Stoliarenko, she will also fight in the prelims this weekend. Maybe the win over McCann will be enough for her to restart her career and we may see her with a second win here after losing four times between 2020 and 2022. She is only 30 after all and it is far from late to improve and become a threat in the division.