UFC London fight week is here. Saturday night (United Kingdom time,) MMA’s No. 1 promotion in the world makes its annual trek to England. O2 Arena serves as the setting for the first UFC card of the spring schedule.

Stateside, live coverage of this Saturday’s event begins in the daytime. Undercard action kicks off the show at 1 pm ET/ 10 am PT on Paramount Plus. Main card fights will cap the itinerary at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT.

Barring any further adjustments needing to be made to the schedule, the final version of this weekend’s London event will have a 14-fight slate. There was one adjustment that came across the wires earlier in the week ahead of UFC London on Saturday.

Heavyweight Prelim Adjusted Ahead of UFC London Saturday

Mick Parkin was announced as having withdrawn from his heavyweight undercard bout versus No. 15 contender Mario Pinto (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) due to injury. Stepping in on short notice for this three-round bout at 265 lbs will be Contender Series alumnus Felipe Franco (10-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.)

While he failed to secure a UFC promotional contract on the Tuesday night MMA promotion five months ago, all 10 of his professional victories have been recorded before the bell has tolled to end the first round.

UFC London Featured Prelim: Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola

At the top of the bill for the undercard this coming Saturday night, the lightweights take to the cage when Mason Jones (17-2, 1 NC MMA, 3-2, 1 NC UFC) meets up with Axel Sola (11-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the latter’s sophomore promotional appearance. All fights mentioned herein are an advertised three rounds at five minutes per round.

Jones makes the walk on Saturday night in UFC London with a record of 5-0 in his last five fights dating back to the fall of 2023. Last time out, he traveled to Paris to take on Bolaji Oki (10-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC,) emerging victorious with a second-round knockout (elbows from mount.) This was Oki’s first defeat in his present two-fight skid.

While Jones has won six fights consecutively going into UFC London over the weekend, his opponent on the other side of the Octagon is no slouch when the cage doors shut. Axel Sola has gone 4-0-1 in his last five fights dating back to July of 2024.

At the moment, he’s sporting an unbeaten streak of 12 contests, spanning the entirety of his professional MMA career. Back on Sept. 6, he, like Mason Jones, was also on the UFC Paris card, defeating Rhys McKee (14-7-1 MMA, 1-5 UFC) with a third-round knockout via a body shot followed by ground and pound.

Both of these contestants in the UFC London featured prelim know how to dish out pain to their opponents to get the win by stoppage, but will either of them stop the other fighter this time around? Only time will tell.

UFC London Co-Featured Prelim: Nathaniel Wood vs. Losene Keita

Immediately prior to the featured undercard bout, the featherweights go into battle for a contest matching Nathaniel Wood (22-6 MMA, 10-3 UFC) against former OKTAGON MMA Featherweight and Lightweight Champion Losene Keita (16-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) Wood will be making the walk on Saturday on the strength of a 4-1 record in his last five MMA contests.

At the moment, he’s won three fights in a row, including a unanimous decision victory over Jose Delgado (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on Oct. 25 during UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He’s on a hot streak of late.

Counting grappling matches, Wood has gotten his hand raised in victory the last five times in a row. How will he fare here?

Across the way, Losene Keita is making his long-awaited UFC debut on Saturday night after a planned Sept. 6 fight vs. Patricio Pitbull was scrubbed when he missed weight the previous day. To find the last time he fought, you’ll need to travel back in time to Dec. 29, 2024.

That winter’s night, he bested Ronald Paradeiser (23-10 MMA, 17-6 OKTAGON) by way of second-round knockout (elbow followed by ground and pound shots.) It’s been close to 15 months since he last fought. Keita was one day away from fighting last September until he missed weight. Once he clears the scales, can he score a highlight-reel win in his UFC debut?

UFC London: No. 15 Contender Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco

As previously mentioned, heavyweights duke it out on the UFC London undercard when No. 15 contender Mario Pinto (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Felipe Franco (10-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) Pinto has yet to lose in his professional career.

Most recently, he finished Jhonata Diniz (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) inside the second round in Enterprise, NV. Pinto had a short time to pivot from preparing for Mick Parkin to preparing for UFC debutant Felipe Franco. What kind of adjustments has he had to make to his gameplan?

In the other corner, Felipe Franco has gone 4-1 in his last five fights and is on a two-fight winning streak. He’s got a quick turnaround ahead of him going into UFC London.

On Feb. 7, he scored a first-round submission (rear-naked choke) of Douglas Felipe Santos (1-2 MMA.) By the time UFC London begins on Saturday, just 42 days, six weeks, will have elapsed between appearances. It’s not often you see someone making their debut after losing on Contender Series, but that’s what Felipe Franco will do this weekend.

Rest of the Prelims:

The UFC London undercard is rounded out by these fights:

A middleweight showdown versing Antonio Trocoli (12-6, 1 NC MMA, 0-3 UFC) against Mantas Kondratavicius (8-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
a heavyweight contest between Louie Sutherland (10-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Brando Pericic (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC,)
a lightweight fight pairing Shem Rock (12-2-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with Abdul-Kareem al-Selwady (15-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC,)
a strawweight encounter matching Shanelle Dyer (6-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut) with Ravena Oliveira (7-3-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC,)
and a women’s bantamweight clash versing Melissa Mullins (7-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Luana Carolina (11-5 MMA. 6-4 UFC.)

Which fights are you looking forward to on the UFC London undercard? Let us know in the comments.