UFC 322 fight week is here. Every November, MMA’s top promotion in the world descends on New York City for one of the most anticipated premium live events of the year. This week, Madison Square Garden is the venue for the penultimate premium event of 2025 and the penultimate PPV of the ESPN era.
Live coverage of UFC 322 begins with the early prelims on Saturday night at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT from the world’s most famous arena. This part of the show can be seen in the United States ESPN+, next to UFC Fight Pass. If you watch the early prelims on traditional TV, FX will show this phase of the card live.
Late prelims at UFC 322 follow at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on ESPN+ and ESPNNEWS via linear television before the evening concludes with a five-fight main card at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view. After Saturday night’s schedule of events, there are only three UFC shows left before the calendar switches to 2026.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf there are no adjustments between now and the weekend, the final version of Saturday night’s card will feature a 14-fight series in The Big Apple.
UFC 322 Featured Preliminary: Bo Nickal vs. Rodolfo Viera
At the top of the bill on Saturday night in New York City, the middleweights take to the legendary Octagon as Bo Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) looks to bounce back from his first career loss in MMA against Rodolfo Viera (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC). All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds of five minutes per round.
Nickal has posted a 4-1 record since joining the UFC’s active roster in March 2023. He got his first taste of defeat in MMA last spring with a second-round knockout of Reinier de Ridder (21-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Nashville. He has since returned to his wrestling roots.
On August 30 in Cleveland, on the inaugural card of Real American Freestyle on FOX Nation, Nickal fought Jacob Cardenas and won by decision. While a fighter of Bo Nickal’s ilk can be a dangerous fighter on any given night, considering he’s coming off a loss in his last UFC fight, he could be even more dangerous this week.
On the other side, Rodolfo Viera will make the cut in the preliminary round of UFC 322 on the strength of a 3-2 record in his last five bouts in the cage. Three months ago at the UFC Apex, he defeated Tresean Gore (5-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC), who missed weight the day before the bout, via unanimous decision.
This fight was Tresean Gore’s second defeat in a row. Viera has done quite well in all competitions heading into UFC 322 on Saturday night. Counting wrestling matches, he has won four of his last five fights, but how will this match go in New York City?
UFC 322 Co-Featured Prelim: Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Immediately before that, the evening’s prelim at UFC 322 features another middleweight matchup pitting Roman Kopylov (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) against Gregory Rodrigues (17-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC). Kopylov lands in New York City having posted a 3-2 mark over the course of his last five fights.
On July 19 in New Orleans, he tasted the defeat of Paulo Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in UFC 318. This fight against Costa was a rebooking of a postponed bout from June 28. UFC officials moved the fight to the New Orleans card ahead of UFC 317.
Prior to the rebooking against Paulo Costa, Roman Kopylov had won two fights in a row. Will he be able to bounce back in this co-featured undercard match?
On the other side, Gregory Rodrigues enters Madison Square Garden with a 4-1 record in his last five appearances. He returned to victory lane on June 28 at UFC 317 with a first-round knockout against Jack Hermansson (24-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC).
By doing this, Rodrigues earned a $50,000 (USD) advance for the Performance of the Night Award. This was his second consecutive post-fight bonus after receiving $50,000 for Fight of the Night against Jared Cannonier at the UFC Apex facility in February.
Gregory Rodrigues knows how to hit the highlights with a spectacular finish, having won 75 percent of his fights before the final horn sounds since joining the UFC. Will he be trending on social media this Saturday night?
UFC 322: #4 contender Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 8 contender Tracy Cortez
Also during the UFC 322 preliminaries, the women’s flyweight division will take the stage for a pivotal bout in the championship picture. No. 4 contender Erin Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) returns to action after seeing a May fight against Maycee Barber canceled just before it was set to start due to Barber’s issues. medical problems behind the scenes at the UFC apex.
Blanchfield’s opponent this week is No. 8 contender Tracy Cortez. The fourth contender is 4-1 in her last five matches.
Before her May 31 fight was postponed on match night, she earned a unanimous decision victory against Rose Namajunas (14-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) last November. Blanchfield went through training camp and completed all her pre-match commitments in May, only to see that fight called off at the last minute.
Expect her to battle frustration this weekend. In the other corner, Tracy Cortez has gone 4-1 in her past five fights.
On June 28, she scored a unanimous decision against Viviane Araujo (13-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) after three rounds of action. Prior to her loss to Rose Namajunas in Denver last July, Cortez had won 11 fights in a row dating back to the end of 2017. Will she start another sustained winning streak here?
Rest of the preliminaries:
The UFC 322 prelims will also feature these fights:
- A bantamweight bout between Malcolm Wellmaker (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Cody Haddon (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
- a middleweight fight against Gerald Meerschaert (37-20 MMA, 12-12 UFC) vs. Kyle Daukaus (16-4, 1 NC MMA, 3-4, 1 NC UFC,)
- A feather-light pat-paratine (20-5 mma, 7-2 ufc) with chepe Mariscca (18-6, 1 NC mma, 5-0 Ufc,)
- a strawweight bout between No. 12 contender Angela Hill (18-15 MMA, 13-15 UFC) and Fatima Klein (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
- a middleweight showcase pairing of Baisangur Susurkaev (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Eric McConico (10-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC,)
- and a lightweight bout against Viacheslav Borshchev (8-6-1 MMA, 3-5-1 UFC) with Matheus Camilo (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Which prelims are you looking forward to during UFC 322? Let us know in the comments.
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