UFC Columbus looks to be getting a key heavyweight fight as its replacement main event.
A heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus is in the works as the main event for UFC Columbus on March 26. News of the booking was first reported by Ariel Helwani Thursday evening. Cageside Press subsequently confirmed the match-up with a source familiar with the situation.
The new UFC Columbus main event is looking like Curtis Blaydes x Chris Daukus, per sources. In the works for March 26.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 11, 2022
Curtis Blaydes, the #4 Ranked UFC heavyweight, currently holds a 15-3 professional MMA record. He has won five of his six bouts, with his last loss coming at the hands of Derek Lewis in February of 2021 via second-round KO. Blaydes is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory against Jairzinho Rozenstruick.
Chris Daukaus, ranked #7 in the UFC’s heavyweight division, boasts a 12-4 record as a pro, winning five of his last six fights. He’s coming off a 1st round KO loss to Derek Lewis, in what was his very first main event for the promotion.
UFC Columbus will take place at Nationwide Arena, Ohio, on March 26, 2022. The originally scheduled main event was to feature former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz versus Aleksandar Rakic. Blachowicz was forced to withdraw due to a neck injury.
The full card as reported to date is as follows:
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus
- Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France
- Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena
- Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Ribas
- Nate Landwehr vs. Lerone Murphy
- Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso
- Tucker Lutz vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa
- Montel Jackson vs. Danaa Batgerel
- Matheus Nicolau vs. David Dvořák
- Aliskhab Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- Max Griffin vs. Neil Magny
- Bruno Souza vs. Luis Saldana
- Marc Diakiese vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
- Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik
