UFC on ESPN 47 - Vettori vs. Cannonier --- UFC on ESPN 48 - Strickland vs. Magomedov



UFC on ABC 5: Emmett vs. Topuria (also known as UFC Jacksonville) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on June 24, 2023 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.


Fight card

Main card (ABC / ESPN+)

Featherweight Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
Women's Flyweight Amanda Ribas vs. Maycee Barber
Heavyweight Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa
Featherweight David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos
Middleweight Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva

Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)

Welterweight Neil Magny vs. Philip Rowe
Welterweight Randy Brown vs. Wellington Turman
Catchweight (157.25 lb) Mateusz Rębecki vs. Loik Radzhabov
Women's Strawweight Tabatha Ricci vs. Gillian Robertson
Flyweight Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Joshua Van
Lightweight Trevor Peek vs. Jose Mariscal
Featherweight Jamall Emmers vs. Jack Jenkins
Middleweight Cody Brundage vs. Sedriques Dumas


Background

The event will mark the promotion's sixth visit to Jacksonville and first since UFC 273 in April 2022.

A featherweight bout between former interim UFC Featherweight Championship challenger Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria was originally expected to serve as the main event of UFC on ESPN: Vettori vs. Cannonier one week earlier, but it was rescheduled to headline this event instead.

Former LFA Middleweight Champion Gregory Rodrigues and Dennis Tiuliulin were expected to meet in a middleweight bout at the main card. However, the bout was postponed to UFC 292 due to an undisclosed withdrawal of Tiuliulin.

A lightweight bout between Trevor Peek and Victor Martinez was expected to take place at the event. However, Martinez withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Jose Mariscal.

Punahele Soriano was expected to face Sedriques Dumas in a middleweight bout at the event. However, on June 15 it was announced that Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cody Brundage.

At the weigh-ins, Loik Radzhabov and Kleydson Rodrigues missed weight. Radzhabov weighed in at 157.25 pounds and Rodrigues weighed in at 129 pounds, one and quarter pounds over the lightweight and three pounds over the flyweight non-title fights limit respectively. Radzhabov's bout is expected to proceed at catchweight and he will be fined 20 percent of his purse, which will go to his opponent Mateusz Rebęcki. As a result of the weight miss, Rodrigues's bout with Tatsuro Taira was cancelled.



Jun 24 - Updated fight card & background

Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria

We're Back In Florida Saturday With Another Stacked Card. Let's Break It Down.

By E. Spencer Kyte, on Twitter @spencerkyte • Jun. 19, 2023

When the UFC returned from its multi-event pause during the global coronavirus pandemic, it did so at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL, with UFC 249 serving as a captivating, exhilarating return to the Octagon.

Eleven months later, the venue played host to UFC 261, with Kamaru Usman closing out the fascinating night of action by — to borrow a phrase — “baptize” Jorge Masvidal in the main event. A year after that, UFC 273 brought tons of excitement back to the northeast Florida arena, with Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns going to war, Aljamain Sterling edging out Petr Yan to retain the bantamweight title, and Alexander Volkanovski making a statement by collecting a fourth-round stoppage win over Chan Sung Jung.

Saturday night, the UFC once again touches down in “The River City” with a card headlined by a tremendous featherweight clash between Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria.

Here’s a complete rundown of what’s on tap.


Main Event: Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria

Recent interim title challenger Josh Emmett squares off with surging contender Ilia Topuria in Saturday’s pivotal featherweight main event.

Emmett returns four months after coming up short in his bid to claim the interim featherweight title at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. The 38-year-old veteran has been stationed in the Top 5 for some time and carries an 18-3 record into this one, with victories over former prospects like Mirsad Bektic and Shane Burgos, and tenured talents Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar.

Undefeated through his first 13 professional bouts, including all five of his UFC appearances, the 26-year-old Topuria is a rising contender in 145-pound weight class and a rising star in the promotion. He enters his first UFC main event having earned back-to-back second-round finishes of Jai Herbert and Bryce Mitchell, as well as consecutive Performance of the Night awards, and looks to keep climbing the divisional ladder at Emmett’s expense.

Matchups like this are always fascinating, as Emmett is the most experienced opponent Topuria has faced to date and coming off a disappointing performance, which brings added urgency and focus, while the youngster knows a victory over the recent interim title challenger would catapult him to new heights.

No matter how this plays out, it’s going to have a significant impact on how things line up towards the top of the featherweight division heading into the second half of 2023.


Other Main Card Fights


Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber

Amanda Ribas and Maycee Barber cross paths in this pairing of promising flyweights on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Ribas has split time between strawweight and flyweight, arriving with a 12-3 record overall and coming off a unanimous decision win over Viviane Araujo at UFC 285 in March. She’s stumbled against the most seasoned opponents she’s faced, but Ribas continues to show improvements each time out and has the all-around skill set to be a consistent threat at either 115 pounds, 125 pounds or both going forward.

Now 25 years old, Barber has posted four straight victories since her UFC 258 loss to current champ Alexa Grasso, most recently edging out Andrea Lee on the scorecards in March. She’s figured out how to best deploy her weapons and play to her strengths, and while she can no longer break Jon Jones’ record for being the youngest champion in UFC history, “The Future” still has top-of-the-division upside.

Will Ribas show she’s a level beyond Barber and ready for another crack at a Top 5 opponent or can Barber keep rolling, pushing her winning streak to five while earning the biggest victory of her career?


Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa

Heavyweights Austen Lane and Justin Tafa share the Octagon here in what promises to be an explosive collision for as long as it lasts.

A fifth-round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010, Lane transitioned to MMA following the end of his NFL career, parlaying a five-fight winning streak into a second opportunity to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series last fall. The former defensive lineman dispatched Richard Jacobi towards the end of the first round, and looks to continue his winning ways in his promotional debut in familiar surroundings on Saturday.

Tafa reached the UFC after just three fights, and struggled with inconsistency out of the gates, dropping three of his first four fights. But last time out, the 29-year-old “Bad Man” built on his first-round stoppage win over Harry Hunsucker at the end of 2021 with a similar first-round finish of Parker Porter, sending him into this one on a two-fight run of success.

Someone is going to get knocked out in this one — it’s just a matter of who and when, and the process of determining answers to those questions should be captivating to watch.


David Onama vs Gabriel Santos

David Onama and Gabriel Santos meet in this clash of featherweight prospects looking to rebound from recent setbacks. Onama had his two-fight winning streak snapped last summer in an absolute slobberknocker with Nate Landwehr, while Santos showed he belonged while suffering his first professional loss in his debut opposite Lerone Murray at UFC 286 in London. Which young fighter will get moving in the right direction again and who will be forced to deal with a second straight defeat?


Brendan Allen vs Bruno Silva

Brendan Allen and Bruno Silva meet in this critical middleweight pairing on Saturday’s main card.

Four straight wins put Allen in a position to headline for the first time, but an injury to Jack Hermansson scuttled that fight and landed him here in Jacksonville. The 27-year-old Louisiana native is 9-2 in the UFC and appears to have really settled into not only life competing against the best in the world, but who he is as a fighter, resulting in back-to-back submission wins.

Silva posted three straight finishes upon arriving in the UFC, leading to a matchup with fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira as “Poatan” marched to the top of the division. He lost a decision to his countryman, then was submitted by Gerald Meerschaert, but rebounded in impressive fashion back in April, stopping Brad Tavares in the first round to push his record to 23-8 overall.

I say it every week in this space, but it’s because it’s true: there is always room to move up quickly in the middleweight ranks, and an emphatic win for either man should open the door to even greater opportunities next time out.


Prelim Fights


Neil Magny vs Phil Rowe

Welterweights with go-go Gadget limbs meet in this one as veteran Neil Magny faces off with Florida-based hopeful Phil Rowe. A fixture in the Top 15 for years, Magny owns the most welterweight victories in UFC history and looks to get back to those winning ways following a submission loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 283 in January. After dropping his promotional debut, Rowe has collected three straight stoppage wins to land on the doorstep of the Top 15, and a win over Magny could get him in the door.


Randy Brown vs Wellington Turman

“Rudeboy” Randy Brown welcomes Wellington Turman to the welterweight division in this preliminary card matchup. A staple in the division since 2016, Brown had a four-fight winning streak snapped by Jack Della Maddalena in February at UFC 284. After seven starts and three victories in the UFC middleweight ranks, Turman drops to the 170-pound weight class looking to get things moving in the right direction.


Mateusz Rębecki vs Loik Radzhabov

Grapplers Mateusz Rębecki and Loik Radzhabov meet in this clash of UFC sophomore looking to parlay success in their respective debuts into continued success. Rębecki bested Nick Fiore in his first assignment following an impressive win on last season of the Contender Series, while the 32-year-old Radzahbov out-hustled Esteban Robotics at UFC 285. Both have shiny records, making this an intriguing preliminary card pairing to watch this weekend.


Tabatha Ricci vs Gillian Robertson

Tabatha Ricci looks to keep rolling, while Gillian Robertson aims to add to her record-setting ways in this potentially exciting clash of strawweight submission specialists. Ricci has posted three straight wins since returning to her natural weight class, most recently submitting former title challenger Jessica Penne. Robertson, who holds the record for the most submission wins by a female fighter in the UFC with seven, has won two straight, including her returning to the 115-pound ranks earlier this year against Piera Rodriguez.


Trevor Peek vs Chepe Mariscal

Unbeaten finisher Trevor Peek and newcomer Chepe Mariscal face off in what should be an absolute banger in the lightweight division for as long as it lasts. Peek has eight wins and eight finishes since beginning his pro career with a no contest, most recently knocking out Erick Gonzalez in his UFC debut. A staple on the regional scene for the last several years, Mariscal makes his first walk to the Octagon as a short-notice replacement for Victor Martinez, riding a three-fight winning streak and brandishing a significant edge in both experience and level of competition faced.


Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs Joshua Van

Veteran flyweight Zhalgas Zhumagulov hopes to finally make his first start of 2023 this weekend after three different cancellations, with newcomer Joshua Van tagging in to serve as his opponent. The 34-year-old from Kazakhstan is just 1-5 in the UFC, but he’s faced stiff competition and battled hard at every turn, dropping each of his last two appearances by split decision. Van steps in for Felipe Bunes, arriving in the Octagon with a 7-1 record and riding a five-fight winning streak.


Jamall Emmers vs Jack Jenkins

Jamall Emmers looks to continue turning back prospects while Jack Jenkins aims to show he’s up to the challenge of defeating the veteran in this tasty featherweight pairing. Last time out, the 33-year-old Emmers out-hustled Khusien Askhabov at every turn, bringing his record to 2-2 inside the Octagon and 19-6 overall with the unanimous decision win. Australia’s Jenkins followed up his contract-winning turn on Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series with a unanimous decision win of his own at UFC 284, where he bested Don Shainis.


Tatsuro Taira vs Kleydson Rodrigues


The flyweights take to the Octagon as Tatsuro Taira and Kleydson Rodrigues meet in a battle of excellent prospects. Taira is a perfect 3-0 in the UFC and 13-0 overall, most recently collecting a first-round submission win over Jesus Aguilar in February. A week after Taira’s win in Las Vegas, Rodrigues picked up his first UFC victory in Perth, running through fellow DWCS grad Shannon Ross in just 59 seconds.


Cody Brundage vs Sedriques Dumas

Cody Brundage steps in on short notice to face off with fellow Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) alum Sedriques Dumas.

Tagging in for Punahele Soriano, Brundage looks to snap a two-fight slide in Jacksonville. After posting back-to-back stoppage wins over Dalcha Lungiambula and Tresean Gore, the Factory X representative has been stopped in consecutive outings, and aims to use this fill-in opportunity as a way to get back into the win column.

Dumas earned his way onto the UFC roster with an explosive 47-second finish of Matej Penaz last fall on the Contender Series, but ran into the more seasoned, more well-rounded Josh Fremd in his promotional debut earlier this year. Now faced with having to rebound from a loss for the first time in his career, it’ll be interesting to see how Dumas responds here.

Jun 24 - Updated fight card & background