TOP FIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTENDERS
(#2) PAULO COSTA AND (#5) MARVIN VETTORI
COLLIDE AT UFC® APEX IN LAS VEGAS
FEATURED BOUT:
GRANT DAWSON vs. RICKY GLENN
UFC® continues its run of shows at UFC APEX with a highly anticipated matchup in the middleweight division, as No. 2 ranked contender Paulo Costa returns to action against No. 5 Marvin Vettori. In the lightweight co-main event, Grant Dawson looks to remain undefeated in the UFC as he takes on Ricky Glenn.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: COSTA vs. VETTORI will take place Saturday, October 23 from UFC APEX in Las Vegas. All bouts will stream on ESPN+, with the prelims beginning at a special start time of 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET and the main card at 1 p.m. PT/ 4 p.m. ET.
A limited number of tickets will be available on Monday, October 18 at www.axs.com.
Knockout artist Costa (13-1, fighting out of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil) steps back into the Octagon for the first time since challenging for the middleweight title in 2020. A ferocious finisher who has earned stoppages in 12 of his 13 wins, Costa rose to the top of the division with victories over Yoel Romero, Uriah Hall and Johny Hendricks. He now looks to make a statement and defend his spot in the rankings by becoming the first person to stop Vettori.
Vettori (17-5-1, fighting out of Mezzocorona, Italy) intends to bounce back from his UFC championship opportunity earlier this year with a vintage performance. During his run to title contention, Vettori proved himself to be one of the toughest matchups in the division with wins over Jack Hermansson, Kevin Holland and Karl Roberson. He now aims to secure the biggest victory of his career by dominating Costa to secure another shot at UFC gold.
Dana White’s Contender Series signee Grant (17-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.) seeks to extend his UFC win streak to six with another dominant performance. A powerful grappler, he has finished an impressive 15 of his 17 wins, including stoppages over Michael Trizano, Darrick Minner and Leonardo Santos. Dawson now has his sights set on breaking into the rankings by becoming the first person to finish Glenn in the UFC.
Glenn (22-6-1, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) looks to make the most of his first UFC co-main event opportunity. Having recently returned to the Octagon after a three-year layoff, he made waves with his spectacular 37-second KO of Joaquim Silva in June. Glenn now intends to make it two in a row by taking out Dawson and beginning his climb up the lightweight ladder.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- An exciting women’s bantamweight bout sees Jessica Rose-Clark (10-6, 1 NC fighting out of Innisfail, Australia) face off with Joselyne Edwards (10-3, fighting out of Panama City, Panama by way of El Paso, Texas)
- Fan favorite Alex Caceres (18-12, 1 NC, fighting out of Miani, Fla.) returns to action against SeungWoo Choi (10-3, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) at featherweight
- Welterweight veterans meet as Francisco Trinaldo (26-8, fighting out of Parana, Brazil) takes on Dwight Grant (11-3, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.)
- Light heavyweight finishers battles as Nicolae Negumereanu (10-1, fighting out of Brasov, Romania) and Ike Villanueva (18-12, fighting out of Katy, Texas) vie for a post-fight bonus.
- Middleweights Junyong Park (13-4, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) and Gregory Rodrigues (10-3, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) lock horns
- Women’s strawweights clash as Tabatha Ricci (5-1, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.) meets Maria Oliveira (12-4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jamie Pickett (11-6, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.) goes for his first UFC win against Laureano Staropoli (9-4, fighting out of La Plata, Argentina) at middleweight
- Lightweight finishers meet when Khama Worthy (16-8, fighting out of Pittsburgh, Penn.) takes on Jai Herbert (10-3, fighting out of Wolverhampton, England)
- Jeff Molina (9-2, fighting out of Olathe, Kan.) intends to follow up on his impressive UFC debut when he faces Daniel Lacerda (11-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Livinha Souza (14-3, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) matches up with Randa Markos (10-12-1, fighting out of Windsor, Ontario, Canada) in a women’s strawweight bout
- Aaron Phillips (8-3, fighting out of Lafayette, La.) and Jonathan Martinez (13-4, fighting out of Plainview, Texas) collide in a bantamweight bout sure to deliver action
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