3/21/25: UFC Targeting Events In Atlanta & Azerbaijan
Plus: GFL reportedly preparing for a late-May doubleheader debut
Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily! We have three big stories for you today, discussing the UFC’s schedule, GFL’s plans for later this year and the latest fighter suspension. Plus, as always, much more in the notes section. Let’s get started!
Atlanta, Abu Dhabi and Possibly Azerbaijan: An Update To UFC’s 2025 Schedule
News broke this week regarding three different locations that might soon be treated to UFC cards.
For one city, they’ll be getting a “Fight Night” card that has become an annual tradition for them by this point. For another, it will be a return more than five years in the making. And for a third, a potential first-time encounter with the top MMA organization could be around the corner.
Here’s a recap of UFC’s latest event news and rumors.
June 14th – Atlanta, Georgia
UFC is currently looking at heading back to Atlanta, Georgia, USA by June 14th, per reports.
While UFC has not “locked-in” a location, the promotion is eyeing Atlanta as a destination for a “Fight Night” card, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
The event, if confirmed, would be Atlanta’s first time hosting a UFC event since 2019. While the 510,000-populated city is quite heavily invested in sports—with major teams in baseball, football, and basketball all in the city—Atlanta has only hosted four UFC cards since the promotion first visited the city in 2008.
Atlanta’s last card was UFC 236, which was headlined by a lightweight title clash between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway.
It was reported by multiple outlets this week—including MMA Junkie and MMA Fighting—that a 125-pound fight between former strawweight champ Rose Namajunas and contender Miranda Maverick has been booked for the card.
Namajunas suffered a setback in the main event of a November 2nd UFC card, losing a five-round decision to Erin Blanchfield. The bout slowed her momentum following back-to-back “Fight Night” headliner wins earlier in the year.
Maverick has been on a roll as of late, with a December victory over Jamey-Lyn Horth marking her fourth consecutive win since mid-2023.
July 26th – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
For the seventh consecutive year, UFC will head to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to host fights.
The promotion will present a “Fight Night” at the Etihad Arena on July 26th, as announced Thursday.
Abu Dhabi has for years paid for UFC to host events in the country, with some from the promotion previously claiming that the company earns as much as $25 million per trip to the city. Last year, UFC hosted a summer “Fight Night” at Etihad Arena, then returned a few months later for a PPV card.
No fights have been reported for the show thus far.
Azerbaijan Reportedly Being Considered For Show
UFC is looking to possibly add a 29th country to its list of visits in June.
Azerbaijan is being targeted for a possible event in three months, per Ariel Helwani.
The South Caucasus country of over 10 million has never hosted a UFC event before, although it is geographically surrounded by many countries with a strong MMA culture: Russia and Georgia—both of which are currently represented on UFC’s list of active champions—are nearby.
No details are known regarding if the event would be in collaboration with the country, similar to the deals UFC has with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if such collaboration was in place. The country has annually paid for a Formula 1 grand prix since 2017, an event which costs a fortune to put on.
Two fighters currently fly the flag of Azerbaijan in the UFC: Lightweights Rafael Fiziev and Nazim Sadykhov.
The biggest MMA presence from Azerbaijan in recent years arguably hasn’t come in the UFC, but instead Japan’s RIZIN promotion. The brand has seen two major Azerbaijanis become stars in the company, first Tofiq Musayev and then more recently Vugar Karamov.
RIZIN hosted a card at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2023, with a fight between Karamov and Chihiro Suzuki for the featherweight title serving as the main event. Suzuki won in 78 seconds via strikes.
GFL Reportedly Planning May 24th Debut Event In California
The Global Fight League (GFL) is reportedly getting close to announcing its first-ever event.
The new MMA promotion—which signed over 120 fighters earlier this year in hopes of building up a roster that could compete with the PFL and even UFC—is planning on beginning its 2025 season with a doubleheader of events in late May, per a report from Ariel Helwani.
GFL has started putting the wheels in motion to host cards on May 24th and 25th (Saturday and Sunday) at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, USA. No events have been officially announced by the upstart company just yet.
If finalized, the events will see GFL eventually kick off a year they had hoped to start as early as next month. The brand previously promoted an April launch, mentioning the month in previous promotional material. However, as the weeks went by, it became less likely that the company could launch that early.
The shows are being planned to take place during a weekend when neither UFC nor PFL have an event scheduled currently, meaning the brand likely won’t have to compete with any other major players in the sport for eyeballs.
The Shrine Auditorium is a 6,300-capacity venue that mainly hosts concerts and award ceremonies. It also has a smaller Expo Hall within the building, which has been used for events in the past as well.
GFL drafted 120 fighters into teams of 20 in January, beginning what is an attempt to revive a team-based approach to MMA — similar to the IFL, which had a brief run in the mid-2000s. Fighters representing teams from around the world will face off against each other, with the winning athletes earning points for their respective squads.
Promotional material shared by the GFL earlier this year showed the plan of going Team vs. Team events in the regular season before a four-team playoffs begins later in the year.
GFL has announced matchups over the past few months in hopes of hyping up their debut events, although none of the pairings have been given dates and locations thus far. Some of the expected clashes for the May doubleheader, per Helwani, include: Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis, Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao, Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis, and Douglas Lima vs. Uriah Hall.
Heavyweight Prospect Danylo Voievodkin Cut From UFC Roster Following Failed Drug Test
Danylo Voievodkin’s UFC hopes have been crushed following a recent Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) ruling.
The heavyweight who earned a spot on the UFC roster via “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year has seen his contract with the promotion get cancelled after failing to comply with their anti-doping policy.
CSAD—which has taken over UFC’s drug testing policy since the departure of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) at the beginning of 2024—recently handed Voievodkin a two-year suspension for meldonium, a prohibited substance.
While many fighters receive a shorter suspension, CSAD found “no mitigating factors” in Voievodkin’s case and thus gave him the full 24-month suspension.
It was confirmed shortly after the announcement by MMA Fighting that Voievodkin was released from the UFC.
The suspension, which is retroactive to November 2024 when he was flagged for a suspicious test result, means that even if he re-joins the UFC roster, he won’t be able to fight under their banner until late 2026.
Voievodkin earned a UFC contract last September after beating CFFC Heavyweight Champion Bailey Schoenfelder in just 73 seconds on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” The win came after a regional run of six wins, all of which occurred in the first round.
Voievodkin is the second fighter to receive a CSAD sanction this year. Earlier this month, it was announced that heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima was given a one-year suspension due to a failed test.
The CSAD has handed out 11 suspensions since it started overseeing the UFC roster 15 months ago.
Notes On: Today’s Events, UFC & OKTAGON
Preview
Before the main course on Saturday night, UFC’s return to the O2 Arena, an appetizer will go down today in London, England. Cage Warriors will head back to The Indigo at the O2 today, presenting a double title fight card to close out a three-week stretch of return events from them in 2025. Both George and Harry Hardwick will put their titles on the line this evening. Harry Hardwick (12-3-1) will get the main event spotlight, aiming to defend his featherweight title for a second time when he faces former LFA title challenger and U.S. stand-out Javier Garcia (12-5). This is a pretty great prospect matchup and a solid headliner. George Hardwick (13-2) will headline the prelims against Samuel Scott (12-4-1) in a lightweight title fight. This match was made on short notice, giving Hardwick a new title bout after his fight in Manchester last weekend against Lucas Clay fell through. If successful, he’ll have the second-most title defenses in a single reign by any Cage Warriors champion (4).
The main card will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, with the prelims starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. The full show will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.
UFC
Two UFC-level fighters who were caught up in a gambling scandal two years back will finally receive sanctions from the Nevada Athletic Commission on March 25th. Jeff Molina and Darrick Minner, both of whom are alleged to have involvement in a betting scheme with coach James Krause—who reportedly worked as a middleman for bettors on an offshore sportsbook—will have their hearings in front of the commission next week. Minner was notably on the losing side of a fight against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in 2022, a result that was flagged for suspicious betting activity and sparked the beginning of the entire scandal. Molina was suspended by the commission due to an alleged “substantial” involvement in Krause’s scheme, per MMA Junkie. Minner was cut from the UFC following the highly controversial incident revolving around his fight against Nuerdanbieke. Molina remains on the roster but hasn’t competed since June 2022.
A battery charge that Nate Diaz faced following an alleged physical altercation with a security staffer at a Las Vegas nightclub in August 2024 has been dropped, the fighter’s legal reps confirmed to MMA Fighting this week. Diaz was alleged to have gotten in the face of a security guard and then struck them with “an open right hand” after they exchanged shoves.
UFC is looking to potentially bring back former flyweight title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi (34-5), per Ariel Helwani. Horiguchi had a highly successful UFC run from 2013 to 2016, with his sole loss through eight appearances coming against champ Demetrious Johnson. He has been one of the biggest MMA names in the Japanese promotion RIZIN in recent years, having reigns with their flyweight and bantamweight titles. He most recently appeared on their 2024 New Year’s Eve card, defending his flyweight belt against Nkazimulo Zulu in a tough contest that saw him get stung by shots multiple times before ultimately earning a decision nod.
Juliana Miller’s (3-3) return to the UFC cage is set. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 winner is expected to have her first appearance in nearly two years at UFC’s May 3rd card against Ivana Petrovic (7-2), per Nolan King of MMA Junkie. While Miller went a perfect 3-0 on “TUF” to earn a UFC contract, she has since struggled to find success in the promotion. She suffered a pair of losses in 2023, dropping a decision to Veronica Hardy and getting stopped by Luana Santos. Now set for her first fight since August 2023, she’ll meet a former ARES FC champ. Petrovic has gone one-for-three since joining the UFC roster in 2023. She’s coming off a split decision loss to Jamey-Lyn Horth in November.
Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-1) will try to earn his second UFC win when he meets Paul Craig (17-9-1) at the promotion's May 17th card, as first reported by MagicM MMA. Bellato settled with a draw after a comeback fight against Jimmy Crute last month, dropping the first round in their fight 10-8 but coming back in the later rounds to even up the scorecards. Before then, he won his UFC debut against Ihor Potieria via finish. Veteran Craig will be trying to end a three-fight skid with past losses to rising names like Brendan Allen and Bo Nickal.
OKTAGON
Former UFC fighter Khalid Taha (14-5) will make his OKTAGON debut on April 5th in Dortmund, Germany against Jose Zarauz (26-10-1). Taha appeared in his first post-UFC appearance in 2023, scoring a quick win on an NFC card in Germany. He’s now set to face former Combate Global title challenger Zarauz, who has scored wins in Argentina and Peru in recent months.