A comprehensive calendar of upcoming MMA and boxing events has been released. UFC Winnipeg on April 18 features Burns vs Malott, Phillips vs Jourden, Vologdin vs Castaneda, and Zheleznyakova vs Crowden. RAF 08 on the same day includes Dvalishvili vs Cejudo and Tsarukyan vs Faber. UFC Vegas 116 on April 25 headlines Sterling vs Zalal and Jackson vs Barcelos. UFC Perth on May 2 features Maddalena vs Prates, Dariush vs Salkild, Tuivasa vs Sharaf, Elliott vs Erceg, and Gaziev vs Pericic. Additional events include PFL Sioux Falls on May 2, UFC 328 on May 9 with Chimaev vs Strickland as the main event, and several boxing cards throughout the period.
A broad stretch of the MMA calendar has been mapped out, with events running from late April through early May and headlined by a string of notable matchups across the UFC and beyond.
UFC Winnipeg on April 18 serves as one of the first major stops, featuring Gilbert Burns against Michael Malott, a welterweight clash with clear divisional consequences. The card also includes Jamey-Lyn Horth Malott opponent Jourden opposite Kevin Phillips, along with Vologdin versus Castaneda and Zheleznyakova versus Crowden rounding out the announced bouts.
Running on the same date, RAF 08 carries significant star power. Henry Cejudo, the 39-year-old former two-division champion now ranked ninth at bantamweight, steps in against Merab Dvalishvili. The five-foot-four American holds a 16-6 record, averages 1.84 takedowns per 15 minutes, and carries a career built around elite wrestling and Olympic gold. Arman Tsarukyan versus Urijah Faber is also slated for that card.
UFC Vegas 116 follows on April 25, with Aljamain Sterling taking on Said Zalal in the main event and Marlon Vera opponent Barcelos in a featured bantamweight affair alongside Random Jackson facing the same opponent.
UFC Perth on May 2 is shaping up as one of the more stacked regional cards, pairing Jack Maddalena against Nicolas Prates, Beneil Dariush against Salkild, Tai Tuivasa against Sharaf, Tim Elliott against Erceg, and Volkan Oezdemir opponent Gaziev versus Pericic.
PFL Sioux Falls also lands on May 2, giving fight fans a choice between promotions that weekend.
Why it matters
- UFC 328 on May 9 tops the entire run with Khamzat Chimaev versus Sean Strickland as the middleweight main event, a high-stakes collision between two top contenders
- The RAF 08 card on April 18 pits Cejudo, a ranked bantamweight, against Dvalishvili, adding title-picture weight to an independent promotion
- Multiple simultaneous cards on April 18 and May 2 reflect an increasingly crowded global MMA schedule
