HIGH-STAKES WELTERWEIGHT MATCHUP BETWEEN
(#7) IAN MACHADO GARRY AND (#9) JOAQUIN BUCKLEY HEADLINES UFC® RETURN TO TAMPA
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHADO GARRY vs BUCKLEY
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
FEATURED BOUT:
(#6) MACKENZIE DERN vs (#8) AMANDA RIBAS
LUFC® returns to Tampa, Fla. for the first time since 2019 with a Top 10 welterweight matchup between two rising stars of the division as No. 7 ranked contender Ian Machado Garry battles No. 9 Joaquin Buckley. Also on the card, No. 6 ranked UFC strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern faces No. 8 Amanda Ribas in a rematch of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHADO GARRY vs BUCKLEY will take place Saturday, December 14 at Amalie Arena. The prelims will be simulcast on ESPNNEWS and ESPN+ in English and Spanish beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. The main card will be simulcast in English and Spanish on ESPN2 and ESPN+ starting at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT. The full card will also air on ESPN Desportes.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHADO GARRY vs BUCKLEY tickets are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
VIP Experience packages are available via On Location, UFC’s Official VIP Experience Provider. Enjoy exclusive access with an official ticket package that can feature premium seating, VIP access to weigh-ins, all-inclusive hospitality, meet-and-greets with UFC fighters and more. For more information, visit UFCVIP.com to view package details.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHADO GARRY vs. BUCKLEY will also serve as UFC’s annual “Fight Like Hell” night, which honors the legacy of Stuart Scott, the late ESPN sportscaster, by raising funds and awareness for the V Foundation’s Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund. The telecast will include vignettes of UFC athletes who have been impacted personally by cancer, either directly or through family or friends who have suffered from the disease.
Undefeated Machado Garry (15-0, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland by way of Belo Horizonte, Brazil) aims to impress in his first UFC main event. Widely considered one of the top prospects in any division, he holds victories over Michael Page, Geoff Neal and Neil Magny. Machado Garry now intends to retain his perfect record with a statement victory over Buckley.
Buckley (20-6, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) has been on fire since returning to the welterweight division in 2023. Owner of some of the most impressive knockouts in UFC history, Buckley is currently on a five-fight win streak, including victories over Stephen Thompson, Nursulton Ruziboev and Vicente Luque. He now seeks to knock Machado Garry from the ranks of the unbeaten in his first UFC main event.
Grappling ace Dern (14-5, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) has her sights set on breaking into the Top 5 by becoming the first person to submit Ribas. A multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, she has showed off her skills in wins against Loopy Godinez, Angela Hill and Nina Nunes. Dern now plans to even the score with Ribas by delivering another exciting Octagon appearance.
Ribas (12-5, fighting out of Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil) looks to end the year with a highlight-reel victory. Currently ranked in both the UFC strawweight and flyweight divisions, Ribas has proven herself as one of the best in the world with victories over Luana Pinheiro, Viviane Araujo and Virna Jandiroba. She now sets out to show that her 2019 win over Dern was no fluke.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- An exciting featherweight bout sees UFC Hall of Famer Cub Swanson (29-14, fighting out of Palm Springs, Calif.) match up with Billy Quarantillo (18-6, fighting out of Tampa, Fla.)
- No. 12 ranked flyweight contender Tracy Cortez (11-2, fighting out of Scottsdale, Ariz.) puts her spot in the rankings on the line against Miranda Maverick (16-5, fighting out of Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
- Veteran Michael Johnson (23-19, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.) looks to add another knockout to his resume when he faces Ottman Azaitar (13-2, fighting out of Rabat, Morocco)
- No. 9 ranked flyweight contender Manel Kape (19-7, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand by way of Porto, Portugal) battles No. 12 Bruno Silva (14-5-2 1NC, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- Lightweights Joel Alvarez (21-3, fighting out of Asturias, Spain) and Drakkar Klose (15-2-1, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) lock horns
- Vitor Petrino (11-1, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) and Dustin Jacoby (19-9-1, fighting out of Springfield, Ill.) face off in a collision of light heavyweight strikers
- Adrian Yanez (17-5, fighting out of La Porte, Texas) returns to action against Daniel Marcos (16-0 1NC, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Lima, Peru) in an exciting bantamweight bout
- A bantamweight bout sees Davey Grant (15-7, fighting out of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England) battle Ramon Taveras (10-2, fighting out of Jacksonville, Fla.)
- Josefine Knutsson (8-0, fighting out of Bromma, Varmland, Sweden) aims to keep her undefeated record intact against Piera Rodriguez (9-2, fighting out of Malaga, Spain)
- Dana White’s Contender Series signee Navajo Stirling (5-0, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) intends to make a statement in his UFC debut against Tuco Tokkos (10-4, fighting out of Lakeworth, Fla.)
- Featherweights Sean Woodson (12-1-1, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) and Fernando Padilla (16-5, fighting out of Chihuahua, Mexico) meet in an all-action bout
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 259 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 975 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.
About Amalie Arena
Vinik Sports Group (VSG) is an entity established by Jeff Vinik to manage the three-time Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning (2004, 2020, 2021) of the National Hockey League and hold the leasehold rights to AMALIE Arena, the 19,092-seat downtown Tampa home in which the team plays its games. The venue opened in 1996 and became AMALIE Arena in September 2014 when the family-owned, Tampa Bay-based AMALIE Oil Company partnered with Vinik and the Lightning. Since 2010, Vinik has led a complete brand and business transformation of the Lightning and the arena, featuring a mostly private renovation of the publicly owned facility. Doug Ostroverand Marc Lipschultz joined the expanded ownership group of Vinik Sports Group in 2024, alongside Arctos, which initially joined in 2021. In addition to owning the Lightning and managing AMALIE Arena, Vinik Sports Group, through TBSE, manages the Yuengling Center on the campus at the University of South Florida, while also managing multi-media rights for USF Athletics.
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