Following last year’s success, the UFC has announced its second visit to Qatar. The promotion will head to Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena on November 21, with 18 fighters clashing in 09 announced bouts across different divisions, including the return of former champions such as Jiri Prochazka and Aljamain Sterling.

All fights announced for the UFC’s crowded Fight Night event in Qatar are as follows: 

Main Card

• Light Heavyweight: Jiri Prochazka vs. Navajo Stirling (main event)
• Featherweight: Aljamain Sterling vs. Kevin Vallejos (co-main) 
• Lightweight: Dan Hooker vs. Brian Ortega 
• Middleweight: Jared Cannonier vs. Ikram Aliskerov 
• Flyweight: Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Asu Almabayev  

Prelims  

• Bantamweight: Aleksandre Topuria vs. Santiago Luna    
• Flyweight: Amir Albazi vs. Alessandro Costa 
• Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev vs. Tallison Teixeira 
• Welterweight: Jake Matthews vs. Akbar Abdullaev    

Typically, a UFC Fight Night event features 10 or more fights, but the promotion’s second visit to Qatar has only 9 bouts announced so far. That suggests further fight announcements could still follow. In fact, the UFC had to abandon a planned lightweight bout that would have been the tenth fight on the card.

Islam Makhachev’s teammate, Magomed ‘Chanko’ Zaynukov, was about to fight Manoel Sousa on the event. But Zaynukov revealed he had to undergo surgery that scrapped the bout at the last minute, and a new contract wasn’t offered to him. So far, it remains unclear whether Sousa will land a new opponent. 

Regardless, the UFC’s return to Qatar stands out anyway, given the magnitude of stakes tied to its main card bouts.

Former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will make his first walk to the Octagon after controversially dropping his chance to reclaim the belt against Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327 in Miami. Despite the Kiwi tearing his ACL mid-bout, he was able to knock out the Czech with a left hook in the first round to become the new 205 lbs champion.  

Prochazka later said he felt “bad” for Ulberg for enduring the injury and didn’t press the action. However, many didn’t buy his explanation, pointing out he walked straight into Ulberg with his chin in the air. In his next bout, ‘BJP’ will be looking to silence the noise, though his opponent won’t make it easy.

Navajo Stirling is currently riding a 6-fight winning streak in the UFC. The 11-0 undefeated phenom slimed out former champion Jan Blachowicz in UFC Belgrade in the first round, scoring the biggest win of his career so far. Interestingly, he trains out of City Kickboxing, the very gym the champion belongs to. So if he scores a win in Qatar, he’d move one step closer to facing his own teammate for the belt. 

Down the card, the former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, will meet rising talent Kevin Vallejos in the co-main event. Sterling, who has moved up to featherweight, struck a new deal with the promotion after beating Youssef Zalal in his last fight, and this will be his first fight under that new contract. He already called out Volkanovski following his win over the Moroccan last time, and he’ll be looking to do the same in Qatar.

Vallejos, on the other hand, proved his mettle by beating seasoned veteran Josh Emmett via an impressive first-round knockout in March. For both featherweights, a statement win could push them closer to facing the winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev, currently scheduled for UFC 333.

Out of every fighter, Dan Hooker‘s name on the card has probably surprised many. ‘The Hangman’ suffered a brutal knockout loss to UFC newcomer Salahdin Parnasse in Paris on September 5th. But it seems the Kiwi has shaken off the wounds of that battle to make a quick turnaround in just two months.

Squaring off against Hooker will be former title challenger Brian Ortega, who also has plenty to prove. Following a loss to Aljamain Sterling last year, Ortega’s move to lightweight has been cursed, with his fight against Renato Moicano falling apart twice due to cancellations.

Finally, the UFC decided to move on from that matchup and pair him with a new opponent, hoping it won’t be marred by another cancellation. So Ortega will definitely need to prove he’s still reliable by making the walk in Qatar. 

The UFC’s second visit to Qatar isn’t stacked only from the top. The prelims also offer some stellar clashes fans won’t want to miss. 

UFC Qatar prelims also feature high-stakes bouts 

The promotion really went all out with its matchmaking for the Qatar Fight Night card, because former champ Ilia Topuria’s brother is returning after a year. Aleksandre Topuria will be coming back to face Santiago Luna in the featured prelims of the card. Last time out, Topuria beat Bekzat Almakhan via decision at the inaugural event in Qatar.

So far, ‘El Conquistador’ has won 2 UFC fights and will be looking for a hat trick in November. However, Santiago Luna represents a step up in competition. The Mexican dropped his last fight against Bryce Mitchell back in June. Even so, his outings against Quang Le and Angel Pichaco have been pretty impressive. 

Then comes the night’s only announced heavyweight bout. Shamil Gaziev delivered a devastating knockout over Kennedy Nzechukwu in August, and he’ll be returning to face Tallison Teixeira in Qatar. The circumstances are somewhat different for the Brazilian, who will be stepping back into the cage after Sergei Pavlovich knocked him out in his last fight.

Last but not least, Amir Albazi and Alessandro Costa will collide in the prelims to stay in the hunt for a title shot. Albazi was once tipped as a future 125 lbs champion, but his two losses to Brandon Moreno and Kyoji Horiguchi badly derailed his momentum.

The Brazilian, on the other hand, is on a three-fight winning streak, and a fourth win over Albazi would certainly set him up for showdowns against bigger names in a division that’s currently red-hot.

That said, the matchmaking is looking solid for the UFC Qatar Fight Night event. Now, it remains to be seen whether the fights end up delivering once again, as they have so far in 2026.