A detailed calendar of upcoming combat sports events has been published, covering late April through early May. On April 18, UFC Winnipeg features Burns vs Malott, Phillips vs Jourden, Vologdin vs Castaneda, and Zheleznyakova vs Croden, while RAF 08 showcases Dvalishvili vs Cejudo and Tsarukyan vs Faber. UFC Vegas 116 on April 25 headlines Sterling vs Zahal and Jackson vs Barcelos. May 2 is particularly packed with UFC Perth (Maddalena vs Prates), PFL Sioux Falls (Storley vs Zendayi, Rabadonov vs Chizhov), and boxing events featuring Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani in Tokyo and David Benavidez vs Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas. The calendar extends through May 9 with UFC 328 headlined by Chimaev vs Strickland, plus a boxing card in Manchester featuring Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois.
A sweeping combat sports calendar covering late April through early May has been published, mapping out a dense stretch of UFC, PFL, and boxing events across multiple continents.
The schedule opens on April 18 with UFC Winnipeg, where welterweight Gilbert Burns takes center stage in the main event against Malott. Burns, 39, carries a 22-10 record and sits ranked 13th in the welterweight division. The Brazilian finisher out of Kill Cliff FC is a consistent threat on the mat, averaging 2.12 takedowns per 15 minutes and 0.5 submission attempts per 15 minutes, while also landing strikes at 48 percent accuracy. Also on that card, Phillips meets Jourden, Vologdin faces Castaneda, and Zheleznyakova squares off with Croden. A separate April 18 event, RAF 08, features a bantamweight clash between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo. Cejudo, nicknamed Triple C, is 39 years old, holds a 16-6 record, and sits ninth in the bantamweight rankings. The five-foot-four American orthodox fighter out of Fight Ready averages 3.82 significant strikes per minute and 1.84 takedowns per 15 minutes.
UFC Vegas 116 follows on April 25, headlined by Sterling versus Zahal and supported by Jackson against Barcelos.
May 2 brings the heaviest single-day load on the calendar. UFC Perth spotlights Maddalena versus Prates, while PFL Sioux Falls features Storley against Zendayi and Rabadonov against Chizhov. Boxing fans are served two marquee bouts the same evening: Naoya Inoue versus Junto Nakatani in Tokyo and David Benavidez versus Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas.
The calendar closes with UFC 328 on May 9, headlined by Khamzat Chimaev against Sean Strickland. Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion, carries a 31-7 record into the bout. The 35-year-old Xtreme Couture product stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and leads all middleweights in output, averaging 6.04 significant strikes per minute. A boxing card in Manchester featuring Fabio Wardley against Daniel Dubois rounds out the week.
Why it matters
- Burns headlines UFC Winnipeg as a ranked welterweight seeking to climb back toward the top 10
- Cejudo's return at RAF 08 carries significant bantamweight rankings implications at number nine
- The May 2 date stacks four major events simultaneously across UFC, PFL, and boxing
- UFC 328 puts Strickland's middleweight title on the line against one of the division's most dangerous challengers
