UFC 299 is fast approaching, as the Octagon heads to Miami and the Kaseya Center.
Set for March 9, the event features Sean O’Malley defending his bantamweight championship against Marlon Vera. Also, Dustin Poirier returns to battle Benois Saint Denis in a five-round lightweight contest.
While those two bouts have been previously announced, the rest of the card is now set. Early prelim action is set for ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET before shifting over to ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET
The pay-per-view main card airs at 10 p.m. ET.
O’Malley (17-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) claimed the title with a victory over Aljamain Sterling. He has also topped the likes of Petr Yan and Raulian Paiva. Vera (21-8-1, fighting out of Chone, Manabi, Ecuador) previously bested O’Malley and will look to make it 2-for-2.
Poirier (29-8-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) is a former interim lightweight champion with two wins over Conor McGregor along with victories vs. Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker. Saint Denis (13-1, fighting out of Paris) is on a five-fight win streak and a judo black belt.
Others set for action include the promotional debut of Michael Page as he takes on Kevin Holland, former champion Rafael dos Anjos and Gilbert Burns.
UFC 299 Fight Card
- Heavyweight contenders No. 5 Curtis Blaydes (17-4 1NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) and No. 7 ranked Jailton Almeida (20-2, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) battle in a pivotal matchup
- Exciting welterweights No. 4 ranked Gilbert Burns (22-6, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Dana White’s Contender Series alumni No. 11 Jack Della Maddalena (16-2, fighting out of Perth, Western Australia) look to deliver fireworks
- Welterweights attempt to steal the show as fan-favorite Kevin Holland (25-10 1NC, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) welcomes UFC newcomer Michael Page (21-2, fighting out of London, England) in what promises to be an epic standup clash.
- No. 4 ranked flyweight contender Katlyn Chookagian (18-5, fighting out of Amity Harbor, N.Y. by way of Quakertown, Penn.) clashes with No. 7 Maycee Barber (13-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) in a pivotal matchup
- No. 6 ranked lightweight Mateusz Gamrot (23-2 1 NC, fighting out of Poznan, Poland) takes on No.11 Rafael Dos Anjos (32-15, fighting out of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) in a high-level bout
- Former UFC champion and the current No. 5 bantamweight contender Petr Yan (16-5, fighting out of Yekaterinburg, Russia) meets No. 7 Song Yadong (21-7-1 1 NC, fighting out of Heilongjiang, China) in a highly anticipated matchup
- No. 11 ranked bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz (20-8 2 NC, fighting out of São Paulo, Brazil) goes toe-to-toe with Kyler Phillips (11-2, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.)
- The always exciting Michel Pereira (28-11, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) takes on knockout specialist Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-6, fighting out of Barki, Poland) at middleweight
- Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus CJ Vergara (12-4-1, fighting out of San Antonio, Texas) collides with Assu Almabayev (18-2, fighting out of Almaty, Kazakhstan) at flyweight
- Heavyweight Robelis Despaigne (4-0, fighting out of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba) makes his UFC debut against Josh Parisian (15-7, fighting out of Escanaba, Mich.)
