UFC Qatar fight week continues. Around this time of year, the MMA schedule gets thinner every week. After Saturday’s show in Doha, there are only three live events left between now and the time the year ends on December 31.
This week’s event is the last for the UFC in the penultimate month of the year, ahead of a bye week next weekend in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. After Dana White and his staff have had their fill of turkey and stuffing, it will be back to work in Las Vegas for two weeks straight before the holidays.
Live coverage of UFC Qatar begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT with the prelims. In the United States, the show will be viewed from gavel to gavel for one of the last times ESPN+. The main card action concludes the day at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT.
Embed from Getty ImagesAll told, barring any late adjustments to this weekend’s schedule, the final version of UFC Qatar will feature a 14-fight series Saturday morning and afternoon (US time).
UFC Qatar Main Event: #1 Contender Arman Tsarukyan vs. No. 6 contender Dan Hooker
At the top of the schedule on Saturday, the lightweights will compete in the legendary Octagon for crucial action lasting 25 minutes or less. No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) takes on No. 6 contender Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC). This match will consist of up to five rounds of five minutes per round to close the show.
Tsarukyan enters UFC Qatar on Saturday night with a 4-1 record in his last five MMA fights, but it’s been a while since he set foot in the Octagon. In April last year, he scored a split-decision victory over Charles Oliveira (36-11, 1 NC MMA, 24-11, 1 NC UFC) after 15 minutes of action in the historic UFC 300.
A scheduled Jan. 18 UFC Lightweight Championship bout against Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) was canceled the morning of the weigh-in after it emerged that Tsarukyan had been injured. He has been busy so far in 2025, having competed and won three wrestling matches.
With Makhachev winning the welterweight title last weekend in New York City, a win for Arman Tsarukyan here could mean another shot at the lightweight title sometime in 2026.
On the other side, Dan Hooker lands in Doha on Saturday night with a 3-2 record in his last five fights. Like Tsarukyan, Hooker waited a long time to get back in the cage. His most recent fight took place in August 2024 at UFC 305 in Perth.
That night, he scored a split-decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot (25-4, 1 NC MMA, 8-4 UFC) after three rounds. It’s been about 15 months since his last fight, so how much ring rust does he have in this fight?
UFC Qatar Co-Main Event: No. 2 contender Belal Muhammad vs. #6 contender Ian Machado Garry
If the UFC Qatar main event is a great fight on paper, the co-main event is just as exciting. Welterweight action is the focus of the co-headliner as No. 2 contender Belal Muhammad (24-4, 1 NC MMA, 15-4, 1 NC UFC) and No. 6 contender Ian Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC). This competition consists of three advertised rounds of five minutes per round.
Muhammad joins the co-headliner this week with a 4-1 record in his last five fights dating back to the spring of 2022. He most recently saw his 11-fight undefeated streak snapped by Jack Della Maddalena (18-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at UFC 315 for the UFC welterweight championship in Montreal last May.
A fighter who is just coming off an undefeated streak is often just as dangerous as someone who is on an active streak. Belal Muhammad was five rounds away from welterweight gold in the spring. He has had six months to think about what went wrong over Mother’s Day weekend. Can he bounce back this time?
Meanwhile, Ian Machado Garry will make the walk this Saturday night with a 4-1 record of his own in his last five fights. In April in Kansas City, Kansas, he returned to victory lane with a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Prates (23-7 MMA, 6-1 UFC) after three rounds.
This is a crucial matchup for both men, but Ian Machado Garry could be just two fights away from a title shot if he wins on Saturday at UFC Qatar. Who will emerge victorious?
UFC Qatar: No. 9 contender Volkan Oezdemir vs. No. 14 contender Alonzo Menifield
Also on the UFC Qatar main card, light heavyweights will battle it out when No. 9 contender Volkan Oezdemir (20-8 MMA, 8-7 UFC) takes on No. 14 contender Alonzo Menifield (17-5-1 MMA, 10-5-1 UFC). Oezdemir comes onto this weekend’s card having gone 3-2 in his last five fights.
Back on November 23, 2024 at UFC Macau he dropped a unanimous decision at the hands of Carlos Ulberg. By the time Saturday arrives, 364 days have passed between the fighting. How will he fare after almost a year of absence?
In the other corner, Alonzo Menifield himself has a 3-2 record over his past five fights. He has been a bit of a streaky fighter lately, winning two fights in a row after dropping two in a row.
On June 14, he scored a unanimous decision victory against Oumar Sy (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Atlanta. Now that Menifield is the fresher fighter of the two, will Menifield win his third in a row? Tune in and find out.
Rest of the map
The UFC Qatar main card is completed by these fights:
- a welterweight bout between Jack Hermansson (24-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) and Myktybek Orolbai (14-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
- a restructured heavyweight bout pitting No. 7 contender Shamil Gaziev (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) against No. 6 contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta (15-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), this after Cortes-Acosta comes in on three days’ notice after Serghei Spivac, Gaziev’s original opponent, withdrew off the map,
- and a flyweight bout that paired No. 11 Tagir Ulanbekov (17-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) with veteran Kyoji Horiguchi (34-5, 1 NC MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the latter’s UFC return.
Which main card fights at UFC Qatar are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
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