Two new pairings have been made for UFC’s June 18th event. One is a completely new matchup, and the other is replacing a fight that was previously booked.
These fights are joining a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment.
Rodrigues Steps In To Face Marques
Julian Marquez has a new opponent for his June 18th booking. While he was previously booked to face Wellington Turman, he is now scheduled to meet Gregory Rodrigues.
The new middleweight matchup was first reported by Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie. It is not known at the moment why Turman withdrew from his booking.
Rodrigues took his first UFC loss in February, dropping a split decision loss to Armen Petrosyan. The former LFA Middleweight Champion had previously scored two wins in the promotion last year.
Marquez scored two wins in his return last year, submitting Maki Pitolo and Sam Alvey in fights.
Kutateladze To Return Against Ismagulov
Guram Kutateladze will appear for the first time in over a year when facing Damir Ismagulov in June, per Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Kutateladze scored a big win in his 2020 UFC debut, becoming the first person to defeat former KSW Champion Mateusz Gamrot. This was his ninth consecutive win since 2015.
Kutateladze didn’t fight throughout 2021, in part due to a knee surgery he had to undergo. He’s now sent to end that break in two months’ time.
Ismagulov has yet to lose since joining the UFC roster in 2018. His fourth consecutive win for the promotion came in May last year when he beat Rafael Alves via unanimous decision.
Updated Lineup
The main event for UFC’s June 18th event is not known at the moment. Here are the bouts that have been reported for the card thus far:
Bout 4: Phil Hawes (11-3) vs. Deron Winn (7-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Kyle Daukaus (11-2) vs. Roman Dolidze (9-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Damir Ismagulov (23-1) vs. Guram Kutateladze (12-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Julian Marquez (9-2) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (11-4) (Middleweight)
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