The UFC will make its return to Charlotte, North Carolina this May.
On Thursday, promotion officials announced that the octagon will head back to the Spectrum Arena in Charlotte on May 13 for a Fight Night event.
MMA Junkie’s Nolan King previously noted the possibility of a Charlotte card.
The company last visited Charlotte in 2018 for UFC on FOX 27, headlined by middleweights Derek Brunson and Jacare Souza. Overall, the promotion has visited the city four times, dating all the way back to UFC 3 in 1994. The octagon returned to Charlotte the following year for UFC 5, then was not seen in the city again for 15 years, until UFC Fight Night 21 in 2010, headlined by Takanori Gomi and Kenny Florian.
This year’s Charlotte card is expected to be a Fight Night event headlined by light heavyweights Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker.
Smith is ranked #5 in the weight class currently, while Walker sits at #7. Thus far, the following match-ups have been reported for the promotion’s return to Charlotte.
- Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Tainara Lisboa
- Matt Brown vs. Court McGee
- Jailton Almeida vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill
- Bryan Battle vs. Gabe Green
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Cody Stamann
- Kim Ji-yeon vs. Mandy Bohm
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Garry
- Alex Morono vs. Tim Means
- Carlos Ulberg vs. Ihor Potieria
