UFC September 26

UFC: Dominick Reyes – Jan Blachowicz targeted for September 26th

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Dominick Reyes

The UFC is finalizing a massive matchup in the light heavyweight division. Per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Dominick Reyes (12-1) will be taking on Jan Blachowicz (26-8) on September 26th.

Dana White said last week that the promotion was waiting to hear back from Jon Jones on what was next for him. White confirmed that there would be a UFC light heavyweight title fight before the year was over. The details of the Reyes/Blachowicz fight is still being worked out.

UFC interim champion or title eliminator?

This is such a big fight because it pairs the top two contenders in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Earlier this year at UFC 247, Dominick Reyes fought Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title.

Reyes put on the performance of a lifetime and many believed that he was going to walk out the new champion. In fact, the majority of the media who scored the fight had the fight for Reyes. In the end, the three judges were unanimous in giving the fight to Jones.

Despite the outpouring of interest in the rematch, Jones seemed to want to move on. He set his eyes on the Polish Express. Blachowicz shocked everyone when he knocked out top contender Corey Anderson just one week after Jones fought Reyes.

With the knockout win, Blachowicz made his case to be the top contender. Jones nodded in approval as Blachowicz shouted at him from the cage after the victory. The UFC had two top contenders on their hands with interesting storylines around them both.

Of course, Jones then expressed his interest in moving up to heavyweight. He suggested that Blachowicz fight Reyes for the title when he was going through his contract dispute with the UFC.

While we certainly don’t know the circumstances just yet, we know that is exactly what’s going to happen. The winner of this fight will either be an interim champion or the winner will be earning the right to fight the UFC‘s light heavyweight champion in the next few months.

UFC: Claudia Gadelha meets Yan Xiaonan on September 26th

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Former UFC strawweight title challenger, Claudia Gadelha (18-4), will be making the walk again on September 26th. Standing across from Gadelha will be Chinese contender, Yan Xiaonan (12-1-1).

Gadelha last fought back in mid-May against Angela Hill. The fight was really close, but the judges gave the fight to Gadelha by split decision. It was Gadelha’s second consecutive win following her decision loss to Nina Ansaroff. Since last competing for the UFC title back in 2016, Gadelha has gone 5-2 over the last few years. A win on September 26th would put her back into title contention.

Yan Xiaonan making waves in the UFC

Since making her UFC debut back in 2017, Yan Xiaonan has been starting to make waves. She has worked her way through all five of her UFC opponents winning every contest by unanimous decision. In her last fight, Xiaonan dominated former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Gadelha and Xiaonan both share another common opponent in Angela Hill. Of course, Gadehla won a close split decision over Hill, Xiaonan on the other hand took a clear unanimous decision in their fight. It’s an interesting matchup that I’ll be curious to see playout.

If Xiaonan is able to defeat Gadelha, the UFC could try to push her up the ladder to challenge Weili Zhang. Perhaps that fight could take place in China making history as the first UFC event headlined by two Chinese born fighters. That would be a massive day in the history of the UFC. The company has made massive investments in the Asian market in recent years, and it’s huge to have top talent coming out of Asia.