A pair of hard-hitting UFC light heavyweights will collide in March.
Multiple sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have confirmed to Cageside Press that Tafon Nchukwi will welcome Azamat Murzakanov to the UFC on March 12 at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev.
Nchukwi (6-1) suffered his first professional loss in 2021 against Jun Yong Park but then ended his year on a win back at light heavyweight. “Da Don” returned to light heavyweight against Mike Rodriguez. Nchukwi told Cageside Press in October that the cut to middleweight was very tough, and he wasn’t able to perform fully. Nchukwi will be sharing the card with his teammate Sodiq Yusuff.
Murzakanov (10-0) earned his UFC contract last season on Dana White’s Contender Series when he knocked out Matheus Scheffel. Unfortunately, the Russian has already had three UFC fights canceled. He was initially supposed to debut against Marcin Prachnio in November and then again in December against Philipe Lins and Jared Vanderaa. However, on the day of weigh-ins, Jared Vanderaa was not medically cleared, and the fight was canceled.
The UFC’s March 12, 2022 event does not have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced. However, light heavyweight contenders Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev will headline the event.
The Fight Night card currently breaks down as follows:
- Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev
- Song Yadong vs. Marlon Moraes
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Alex Caceres
- Guido Cannetti vs. Kris Moutinho
- Trevin Jones vs. Javid Basharat
- Alex Pereira vs. Bruno Silva
- Damon Jackson vs. Josh Culibao
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Cody Brundage
- Sabina Mazo vs. Mandy Bohm
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. Azamat Murzakanov
