Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In September

September is stacked with spicy Octagon action including two title bouts and an event unlike any other, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he highlights the five most-anticipated UFC fights of the month.

Gilbert Burns v Sean Brady

Sunday, 8 September SA time

Top 10 welterweights trade leather in the month’s first main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A former title challenger, sixth-ranked Burns has battled and beaten some of the best at 170 pounds, including Jorge Masvidal, Stephen Thompson and former champion Tyron Woodley. Heavy-handed and a great grappler, he’s looking to bounce back from a third-round knockout loss to Jack Della Maddalena in March.

Eighth-ranked Brady is a cardio machine and jiu-jitsu standout coming off a submission win over Kelvin Gastelum in December. Now set to realise his first UFC main event, he seeks to maximise the biggest fight of his career and aims to become the first man to tap out “Durinho”.

Sean O’Malley v Merab Dvalishvili

Sunday, 15 September SA time

One of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, O’Malley headlines Riyadh Season Noche UFC, a pay-per-view spectacular the promotion promises will be the greatest combat sports event ever when he puts his bantamweight title on the line against oncoming force Dvalishvili at the one-of-a-kind Sphere in Las Vegas.

Charismatic, colourful and a sensational striker, O’Malley put on a masterclass against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299 in March, beating him from pillar to post over five rounds to make the first defence of his 135-pound and avenge his only loss inside the Octagon. 

A relentless wrestler the likes of which the UFC has never seen before, Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight win streak and has defeated three former champions in Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo. “The Machine” dominated the great Cejudo last time out in February and vows to wrest the strap away from “Suga” in what’s an epic clash of styles.

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Alexa Grasso v Valentina Shevchenko

Sunday, 15 September SA time

Flyweight champion Grasso and all-time great Shevchenko conclude their trilogy in Noche UFC’s co-main event.

Grasso is a history-maker, having produced one of the biggest upsets of all time to dethrone the dominant Shevchenko and become the first-ever female Mexican UFC champion and made more history when she headlined the MMA leader’s maiden Mexican Independence Day card in the rematch at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last September.

The 31-year-old Grasso seized the flyweight title with a nasty rear-naked choke last March and sought to prove it was no fluke by vanquishing the longest-reigning women’s champion in UFC history in the rematch.

Shevchenko, however, had other ideas. Hell-bent on reclaiming the belt and bouncing back from what was her first loss since 2017 and only the third defeat of her career, “Bullet” came out firing with the fight finishing in a split draw.

Now, after having served as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, they’ll finally settle the score.

Brian Ortega v Diego Lopes

Sunday, 15 September SA time

Don’t blink when two of the best and most exciting featherweights on the planet face off in the featured scrap inside the Sphere.

The pair were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 303 in June, but Ortega was forced out of the fight due to illness the day of the event. In an unprecedented pivot, Dan Ige stepped up on three hours’ notice with Lopes agreeing to face the ever-game veteran at a catchweight of 165 pounds.

An all-action dynamo, Lopes prevailed by decision to stretch his win streak to four and once again has Ortega in his sights. A former two-time title challenger and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Ortega returned from injury in a big way by submitting ex-interim titleholder Yair Rodríguez in February and looks to secure another shot at the belt.

Renato Moicano v Benoit Saint Denis

Saturday, 28 September SA time

Moicano enters enemy territory as he takes on French phenom Saint Denis in the main event of UFC Paris at Accor Arena.  

A former featherweight, Moicano’s hitting his straps at lightweight, where he’s hunting his fourth straight win after seeing off Brad Riddell, Drew Dober and Jalin Turner in what will be his first marquee match since 2019.

A kill-or-be-killed fighter, Saint Denis plans to return with a vengeance following his Fight of the Night battle with Dustin Poirier in March, in which he went toe to toe with the former interim champion until he was knocked out in the second round.