UFC’s October 29th card is quickly being built up, as a total of five bouts have been reported for the show already. The bouts, which are joining a show that doesn’t have a set location currently, are all broken down here.
Barboza vs. Topuria Lined Up
Undefeated featherweight Ilia Topuria will get the chance to face a veteran later this year, as he has agreed to meet Edson Barboza in October. Reporter Laura Bynilla was the first to report the bout.
Topuria has risen up the featherweight ranks quickly since joining the UFC roster in 2020. He scored his third consecutive win via finish earlier this year, putting away Jai Herbert in March. Before then, he scored victories over Ryan Hall and Damon Jackson.
Barboza has faced some of the most notable featherweight names in recent years. He will enter this booking with the goal of snapping a two-fight skid, coming off losses against rising talents Giga Chikadze and Bryce Mitchell.
Veteran Arlovski To Face Rogerio de Lima
Amid one of the most successful runs of his entire career, heavyweight vet Andrei Arlovski will face Marcos Rogerio de Lima in October, per Raphael Marinho of Combate.
Arlovski, a veteran of more than two decades, is currently on a four-fight winning streak. Two of those wins have already come from this year, recently defeating Jared Vanderaa and Jake Collier. If he can pull off a win in October, he will officially be on the third-best run of his UFC career (his two more successful runs were both six-fight winning streaks).
Rogerio de Lima will be fighting to return to the win column in this booking. His last appearance was on a pay-per-view card in May, when he dropped a decision to Blagoy Ivanov. He had a two-fight winning streak going before then.
Rising Light Heavyweight Jacoby To Face Rountree
Dustin Jacoby’s fast-paced and successful light heavyweight campaign could continue later this year when he faces Khalil Rountree. This booking, along with two other bouts written about below, were first mentioned in a report by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
Jacoby has strung together an impressive six wins and one draw since re-joining the UFC roster in 2020. He had a quick victory in his last bout, stopping Jung Da-un in the first round of a bout last month.
Rountree, a UFC vet of 12 appearances, enters this bout on a two-fight winning streak. Both wins in that run have come via finish, recently beating Modestas Bukauskas and Karl Roberson.
Holmes, Park To Meet At Middleweight
In a middleweight bout, Joseph Holmes and Park Jun-yong will face off.
Holmes picked up his first UFC victory quite recently, scoring a 64-second rear naked choke submission against Alen Amedovski. He lost his debut earlier this year, dropping a decision to Jamie Pickett.
Park has much more UFC experience, currently boasting a promotional record of four wins and two losses. His last fight was a split decision win over Eryk Anders.
Hooper Booked Against Garcia
In a featherweight bout, Steve Garcia and Chase Hooper are expected to compete.
Hooper is coming off a finish win from earlier this year, stopping Felipe Colares in the third round of a May bout. If Hooper can win in October, the appearance will mark the first time that he has put together two consecutive wins since he joined the UFC roster in 2019.
Garcia is coming back after suffering a quick finish loss in June, getting beat in just over a minute by Maheshate.
Updated Lineup
Bout 5: Edson Barboza (22-11) vs. Ilia Topuria (12-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Andrei Arlovski (34-20) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (19-8-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Dustin Jacoby (18-5-1) vs. Khalil Rountree (10-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Chase Hooper (11-2-1) vs. Steve Garcia (12-5) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Joseph Holmes (8-2) vs. Park Jun-yong (14-5) (Middleweight)
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