The UFC announced a trio of blockbuster matchups for UFC 320 as well as the main event for UFC 321 earlier this week, and the organization has begun filling out those cards and other upcoming events with additional bouts.
UFC 320 on Oct. 4 will be headlined by a light-heavyweight title rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira and features a meeting of 205-pound contenders Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr., and on Thursday, the UFC announced that later in the month at UFC 321, Azamat Murzakanov will return to face Aleksandar Rakic in another pivotal 205-pound contest.
Murzakanov is 15-0 as a pro and has won all five of his UFC appearances. The 36-year-old is the No. 11-ranked contender in the division and is coming off a technical knockout win over Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 316 in June.
Rakic, meanwhile, is still ranked at No. 7 despite a three-fight losing streak that has seen him drop consecutive bouts to former champions Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and current champ Magomed Ankalaev.
The UFC also announced that Ikram Aliskerov will face JunYong Park in a middleweight bout, and Azat Maksum will face Mitch Raposo at flyweight. Additionally, heavyweights Hamdy Abdelwahab and Chris Barnett will compete in a heavyweight bout that could result in the loser getting cut from the roster.
UFC 321 will take place in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, also featuring a heavyweight title eliminator between Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida.
Erceg gets new opponent: One-time flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg was slated to face Alex Perez on the upcoming Aug. 9 Fight Night event at the UFC Apex, but Perez has been forced out of the matchup. Stepping in to face Erceg on short notice will be HyunSung Park.
Erceg, 29, has lost three straight, albeit all to elite competition — a championship loss to Alexandre Pantoja, then to recent title challenger Kai Kara-France and former champ Brandon Moreno.
Park, also 29, is 10-0 as a pro with three wins at the UFC level, with all three coming by stoppage. He earned a rear-naked choke against Seung Guk Choi in his debut, stopped Shannon Ross with strikes in his second UFC bout and submitted Carlos Hernandez with a rear-naked choke in his most recent outing in May.
Jasudavicius nearing title shot: Also on Thursday, the UFC announced the first matchup added to the Oct. 18 Fight Night card set for Rogers Arena in Vancouver, with Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius taking on France's Manon Fiorot in a women's flyweight bout. Jasudavicius, 36, has won five in a row and is now set to face a recent title challenger who pushed current champ Valentina Shevchenko in a closely contested five-round bout at UFC 315 in May.
Former title challengers clash: The UFC confirmed Diego Lopes and Jean Silva will headline this year’s Noche UFC event on Sept. 13 and added an intriguing women’s strawweight matchup between Tatiana Suarez and Amanda Lemos. Both women lost unanimous decisions to reigning 115-pound champ Weili Zhang, with Suarez suffering her first pro loss at UFC 312 in February, while Lemos has gone 2-1 since losing to Zhang at UFC 292 two years ago.
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