All You Need to Know About UFC Fight Night: Events, Predictions

Ultimate Fighting Championship has grown to be the biggest MMA promotion in the world and the number of events held each year continues to rise in number. Take 2022 as an example – a year consists of 52 or 53 weeks – in 2022, the UFC would hold a total of 42 events, which means that there is one almost every week of the year. But if you are new to the sport and the UFC, in general, you will see that each event has a different name and there are several types of events. While the UFC Pay-Per-View events continue to be the epitome of the organization and the MMA world as a whole, the organization now hosts smaller events on a weekly basis – the UFC Fight Night, which often goes by different names like UFC Vegas and UFC on ESPN+. What is the difference between the big events and the smaller UFC Fight Nights? Here is everything you need to know to understand the concept.

Our Latest UFC Fight Night Predictions

Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman

Edwards' winning streak in the strongest MMA league on the planet is already ten fights. In August 2022, the 31-year-old Briton defeated Kamaru Usman by knockout. This was their second fight. It is noteworthy that the native of Kingston was defeated in the UFC for the last time by a fighter from Nigeria by unanimous decision. That fight took place in December 2015. Edwards has 20 wins (seven by knockout) and three losses.

Kamaru Usman is ranked number one in the division. He has 20 wins (nine by knockout) and two losses. The 35-year-old African had 19 wins in a row before losing to Edwards.

Sam Patterson vs Yanal Ashmouz

Sam Patterson's strengths are stamina, the clinch and jiu-jitsu, where he has a brown belt. What makes Patterson so dangerous is that his size forces opponents to break into close range and they get into a brutal clinch where they eat knees and elbows, and Sam also heavily loads and exhausts his opponent from the clinch. In case the opponent gets tired of the blows from the clinch and decides to fight, then Patterson has a deadly guillotine. In addition, Ashmoz has shown in his PFL fight that getting stuck in these clinch positions can be a problem for him. Ashmoz has heavy hands, but it will be difficult for him to land these blows. Ashmoz hasn't fought in a year, and he's going to have a tough fight in enemy territory.

What is the difference between the regular UFC PPV Events and UFC Fight Night?

Even as a new fan of the sport, you should have noticed that there are different kinds of UFC events throughout the year. There are the “numbered” UFC events and the more common UFC Fight Nights. What is the difference?

Let's take August 2022 as an example – the UFC held three events in that month. Two were UFC Fight Nights and one was UFC 278: Usman vs Edwards 2.

While you can watch the regular UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ as long as you have a membership, you had to pay an additional price to watch UFC 278 – $69.99. And there lies the main difference – the numbered events are pay-per-view and these are the biggest fight cards of the year.

UFC 278 and all numbered events have a main event or several bouts that are for one of the titles in the organization and most of the fighters in the card are either UFC stars or the biggest prospects. There usually are about 12 such events in the calendar year.

When it comes to UFC Fight Night, these are the lower-tier events that include smaller fighters, newcomers, and prospects that are trying to reach a title fight in the near or distant future. This is where you will see fighters build up their reputation and try to attract the attention of the boss – Dana White. UFC Fight Night bouts consist of three rounds while the championship bouts of the PPV events are always 5-round fights.

UFC Fight Night Venues – What is UFC Vegas?

While most UFC events take place in the United States, the UFC Fight Nights – the smaller events – are nowadays sometimes held in foreign locations. After all, the UFC wants to one day host events on different continents.

For example, the UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Aspinall and the UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Aspinall were both held in the O2 Arena in London. This is a venue that will hold a lot more events in the coming years.

During the lockdown, the UFC created a new location in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and held a number of Fight Nights there too. Right now, the UFC will host its first event in Paris, France – the UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Tuivasa.

While we expect to see more locations in the future, the majority of the events continue to be held in the United States and there is one very special location – the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Perhaps you have seen that some events are called UFC Vegas. The UFC Apex is the privately owned complex of the organization and it hosts the biggest number of events throughout the year. UFC Vegas events are regular Fight Nights, never the big pay-per-view events as they are held in massive arenas.

And that is about it – you will find that UFC Fight Nights go under many names but it is the same thing. It is a regular marketing practice to promote the location or the streaming provider of the given event.