Fight Roundup: Undefeated Tatsura Taira fights David Dvorak at UFC Vegas 81

Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.

All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.

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Tatsuro Taira vs. David Dvorak
Jonathan Martinez vs. Adrian Yanez
Emily Ducote vs. Ashley Yoder

Tatsura Taira and David Dvorak might be headed in opposite directions, but their paths are set to cross at the UFC APEX on Oct. 14.

Currently 4-0 in the UFC and sitting just outside the flyweight top 15 of the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Taira (14-0) has received his next assignment in the battle-tested Dvorak (20-6). The matchup was first announced by Taira’s management.

Taira, who only turned 23 this past January, has impressed in his UFC career so far, submitting two of his first four opponents and most recently winning a unanimous decision over Edgar Chairez. He seeks his third win of 2023 when he steps into the octagon at UFC Vegas 81.

Dvorak also began his UFC career undefeated with three straight wins, but has since seen a sharp reversal of fortunes with losses in his past three outings. He lost a pair of decisions to top-ranked contenders Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau, and then suffered an upset loss to short-notice replacement Steve Erceg this past June.

A bantamweight bout between Jonathan Martinez (18-4) and Adrian Yanez (16-4) has also been added to the UFC Vegas 81 lineup (first reported by ESPN Deportes). Martinez has won five straight fights while Yanez looks to rebound from his first UFC loss after a 5-0 start with the promotion.

Also set for Oct. 14, former Invicta FC strawweight champion Emily Ducote (12-8) fights Ashley Yoder (8-8) in a strawweight bout. Yoder’s management was first to announce the matchup.

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Ricardo Ramos vs. Charles Jourdain

Ricardo Ramos is getting a chance to make up for lost time.

The UFC announced that Ramos (16-4) is set to fight Charles Jourdain (14-6-1) in a featherweight bout at UFC Vegas 79 on Sept. 23. This marks Ramos’ first fight since a highlight-reel first-round knockout of Danny Chavez in June 2022.

Ramos’ past two scheduled bouts have fallen through. He was supposed to fight Danny Henry this past September, but both fighters withdrew due to injury, and then a bout with Austin Lingo in March was canceled due to Ramos blowing his weight cut by eight pounds. He is 7-3 in the UFC.

Jourdain snapped a two-fight losing skid with a decision win over Kron Gracie at UFC 288. His UFC record stands at 5-5-1, with notable wins over Gracie, Lando Vannata, and Doo Ho Choi.

UFC Vegas 79 is scheduled to be headlined by a lightweight bout between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Bogdan Guskov

Volkan Oezdemir has a new opponent for UFC Paris.

The one-time light heavyweight title challenger was originally scheduled to fight Azamat Murzakanov at the Sept. 2 event, but Murzakanov has been replaced by UFC newcomer Bogdan Guskov (14-2).

Murzakanov’s withdrawal and the new bout was first reported by MMA Mania. It is not yet known why Murzakanov is out of the fight.

Oezdemir (18-7) is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Nikita Krylov this past October. He has lost three of his past four fights and is just 3-5 since failing to defeat Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 220.

Guskov makes his UFC debut of the heels of a 3-0 run with MMA Series Russia. Twelve of his fourteen career victories have come by way of KO/TKO.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Nate Maness vs. Mateus Mendonca

Flyweights Nate Maness and Mateus Mendonca meet at UFC Vegas 80 on Oct. 7.

Maness (14-3) looks to snap a two-fight skid after dropping consecutive fights to Tagir Ulanbekov and Umar Nurmagomedov. Prior to those losses, Maness defeated his first three UFC opponents.

Mendonca (10-1) also looks to get back on the winning track after suffering the first loss of his pro career this past January. The 24-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Javid Basharat in his UFC debut after earning a contract on the Contender Series with a 48-second knockout of Ashiek Ajim.

The matchup was first reported by Eurosport.

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Blood Diamond vs. Charlie Radtke

Blood Diamond gets a third chance to make a first impression when he fights Charlie Radtke at UFC 293 on Sept. 10.

The City Kickboxing product has been added to the Australia pay-per-view, where he seeks his first win inside the octagon after losses to Orion Cosce and Jeremiah Wells. Diamond—real name Mike Mathetha—previously competed in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA, where he is currently 3-2 as a pro.

Radtke (7-3) has won four straight fights heading into this contest, all with the Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion. He defeated Raheam Forest via first-round submission this past April to claim the CFFC welterweight title.

The matchup was first reported by the Daily Telegraph.

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Jinh Yu Frey vs. Viktoriya Dudakova

Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey seeks her first win since 2021 when she meets the undefeated Viktoriya Dudakova in a strawweight bout at UFC 294 on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi. Eurosport was first to report the matchup.

Frey (11-9) hasn’t had much luck the past couple of years, suffering losses to Elise Reed, Polyana Viana, and Vanessa Demopoulos. She is 2-5 in the UFC, with wins over Ashley Yoder and Gloria de Paula.

Dudakova (7-0) made a successful UFC debut this past July when a grisly arm injury to opponent Istela Nunes brought a quick stop to their contest just 34 seconds into the opening round. All but one of Dudakova’s seven pro victories have ended inside the distance.

UFC 294 is headlined by a lightweight title rematch between champion Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.

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Esteban Ribovics vs. Elves Brener

Esteban Ribovics has the tall task of stopping the surging Elves Brener.

The South American lightweights are set to meet at UFC Sao Paulo on Nov. 4. ESPN Deportes was first to report the matchup.

Ribovics recently scored his first UFC win with a unanimous decision nod over Kamuela Kirk at UFC 290. The 27-year-old Argentinian has won 12 of his first 13 pro fights, with his lone loss coming to Loik Radzhabov in his promotional debut.

Brazil’s Brener has emerged as a spoiler to start his UFC career. At UFC 284, he took a split decision against the heavily favored Zubaira Tukhugov and then scored another upset this past July when he finished Guram Kutateladze via third-round TKO. He has won his past four fights to boost his pro record to 15-3.

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Chase Hooper vs. Jordan Leavitt

A lightweight bout between Chase Hooper and Jordan Leavitt is scheduled for November.

Both fighters seek a second straight win when they meet at UFC Vegas 82 on Nov. 18, which takes place at UFC APEX. MMA Mania was first to report the bout.

Hooper (12-3-1) was signed to a developmental contract at the age of 18 after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series and eventually made his debut with the promotion in December 2019 with a win over Daniel Teymur. Now 23, Hooper has alternated wins and losses in six appearances since, most recently defeating Nick Fiore by unanimous decision.

Leavitt (11-2), another Contender Series signing coming off of a win, has won three of his past four fights. This past February, he needed a little more than half a round to finish Victor Martinez via TKO.

Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA

Bellator 300

Five preliminary bouts have officially been announced for Bellator 300, including a featherweight bout between top contenders Sara McMann and Leah McCourt.

McMann, a one-time UFC bantamweight title challenger, made a successful Bellator debut this past April with a unanimous decision nod over Arlene Blencowe. The Olympic silver medal-winning wrestler is 14-6 as a pro.

McCourt is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Cat Zingano, which dropped her Bellator record to 6-2. Her clash with McMann likely determines the next challenger for featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, who defends against Zingano at the milestone event.

Bellator 300 takes place Oct. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. See the updated lineup below.

Main Card

Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus

Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano

Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell

Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane

Preliminary Card

Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi

Sara McMann vs. Leah McCourt

Henry Corrales vs. Kai Kamaka III

Ilara Joanne vs. Jena Bishop

Bobby Seronio III vs. Alberto Garcia