Thrilling featherweight contender’s bout headlines UFC Vegas 35

Also
on
the
UFC
Fight
Night
card,
The
Return
of
the
Ultimate
Fighter
middleweight
and
bantamweight
tournament
winners
will
be
crowned.

The
main
card
will
be
available
on
ESPN,
ESPN+
and
ESPN
Deportes
beginning
at
10
p.m.
ET
/
7
p.m.
PT.
The
prelims
will
kick
off
exclusively
on
ESPN+
in
English
and
Spanish
at
7
p.m.
ET
/
4
p.m.
PT.

KO
artist
Barboza
(22-9,
fighting
out
of
Nova
Friburgo,
Rio
de
Janeiro,
Brazil)
has
been
thrilling
fans
for
years
with
highlight-reel
finishes.

Throughout
his
UFC
career,
he
has
delivered
memorable
victories
against
Beneil
Dariush,
Terry
Etim
and,
most
recently,
Shane
Burgos.
Barboza
now
aims
to
keep
his
momentum
going
by
becoming
the
first
fighter
to
stop
Chikadze
in
the
UFC.

Rising
contender
and
former
kickboxer
Chikadze
(13-2,
fighting
out
of
Tbilisi,
Georgia)
quickly
climbed
the
featherweight
ranks
upon
joining
the
UFC
roster
in
2019.

Since
then,
he
is
undefeated
in
the
Octagon
with
wins
over
Cub
Swanson,
Jamey
Simmons
and
Omar
Morales.
Chikadze
now
goes
for
the
biggest
win
of
his
career
to
continue
his
ascent
up
the
145-pound
ladder.

UFC
Fight
Night:
Barboza
vs
Chikadze
will
also
feature
the
exciting
finals
of
The
Return
of
the
Ultimate
Fighter.
The
groundbreaking
reality
series
made
its
triumphant
return
in
June,
featuring
UFC
featherweight
champion
Alexander
Volkanovski
and
No.
2
ranked
contender
Brian
Ortega
as
coaches.

The
Return
of
the
Ultimate
Fighter
will
conclude
with
an
all
Team
Volkanovski
finale.
The
final
middleweight
bout
will
see
Bryan
Battle
(5-1,
fighting
out
of
Charlotte,
N.C.)
take
on
Gilbert
Urbina
(6-1,
fighting
out
of
Weslaco,
Texas),
who
is
replacing
Team
Ortega’s
Tresean
Gore
due
to
injury.

Also,
Ricky
Turcios
(10-2,
fighting
out
of
Sacramento,
Calif.)
faces
Brady
Hiestand
(5-1,
fighting
out
of
Spokane
Valley,
Wash.)
at
bantamweight.

Additional
bouts
on
the
card
include:

•
Kevin
Lee
(18-6,
fighting
out
of
Las
Vegas,
Nev.)
returns
to
welterweight
to
take
on
rising
star
Daniel
Rodriguez
(15-2,
fighting
out
of
Alhambra,
Calif.)

•
Team
Ortega
middleweights
collide
when
Andre
Petroski
(5-1,
fighting
out
of
Springfield
Township,
Pennsylvania)
faces
Micheal
Gillmore
(6-3,
fighting
out
of
Charlotte,
Michigan)

•
Makhmud
Muradov
(25-6,
fighting
out
of
Bukhara,
Uzbekistan)
looks
for
another
highlight-reel
finish
when
he
faces
gritty
veteran
Gerald
Meerschaert
(32-14,
fighting
out
of
Milwaukee,
Wisc.)
in
a
middleweight
bout

•
Antonio
Braga
Neto
(9-3,
1
NC,
fighting
out
of
Rio
de
Janeiro,
Brazil)
intends
to
stop
Abdul
Razak
Alhassan
(10-4,
fighting
out
of
Fort
Worth,
Texas)
from
reaching
his
first
win
at
middleweight

•
Fan
favorite
Sam
Alvey
(33-15-1
1NC,
fighting
out
of
Temecula,
Calif.)
returns
against
Wellington
Turman
(16-5,
fighting
out
of
Curitiba,
Brazil)
in
a
middleweight
bout

•
Dustin
Jacoby
(14-5-1,
fighting
out
of
Englewood,
Colo.)
faces
Darren
Stewart
(12-7
2NC,
fighting
out
of
London,
England)
in
an
exciting
matchup
of
light
heavyweight
strikers

•
Featherweight
prospects
collide
when
Jamall
Emmers
(18-5,
fighting
out
of
Redlands,
Calif.)
squares
off
with
Pat
Sabatini
(14-3,
fighting
out
of
Philadelphia,
Penn.)

Source:
Press
Release