{"id":21635,"date":"2025-07-24T23:09:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/21635\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T23:09:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:09:08","slug":"big-boys-set-for-key-light-heavyweight-fight-at-ufc-321","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/21635\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Big boys\u2019 set for key light heavyweight fight at UFC 321"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UFC returns to the United Arab Emirates this weekend for a Fight Night event, and the promotion is already filling up the October Abu Dhabi pay-per-view with \u201cbig boys\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The company announced Thursday that Aleksandar Rakic<\/a> gets his chance to snap a three-fight losing skid at UFC 321<\/a> on Oct. 25, when he faces undefeated Russian talent Azamat Murzakanov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rakic is holding on to the No. 8 spot at 205 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings<\/a>, while the surging Murzakanov currently stands at No. 11.<\/p>\n

UFC also officially announced a heavyweight clash between Alexander Volkov<\/a> and Jailton Almeida<\/a>, which was first reported by MMA Fighting<\/a>. UFC 321 is headlined by Tom Aspinall<\/a>\u2019s first defense of the undisputed heavyweight belt versus Ciryl Gane<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rakic (14-5) had an incredible start in the promotion with six wins in seven appearances from 2017 and 2021, losing only in a split decision to Volkan Oezdemir<\/a>. His career took a turn after he suffered a leg injury against Jan Blachowicz<\/a> in 2022. The injury forced Rakic to go through a long recovery process and he returned to action in 2024, losing to former and future champions Jiri Prochazka<\/a> and Magomed Ankalaev<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Murzakanov (15-0) has won five in a row in the UFC, capped off by a first-round knockout of Brendson Ribeiro<\/a> this past June. The Brave CF openweight tournament champion also holds a stoppage victory over future PFL season finalist Matheus Scheffel<\/a> on Dana White<\/a>\u2019s Contender Series.<\/p>\n

Three other bouts have been made official for UFC 321: Azat Maksum<\/a> (15-2) vs. Mitch Raposo<\/a> (9-3) (flyweight), Ikram Aliskerov<\/a> (16-2) vs. Jun Yong Park<\/a> (19-6) (middleweight), and Hamdy Abdelwahab<\/a> (6-1, 1 NC) vs. Chris Barnett<\/a> (23-9) (heavyweight).<\/p>\n