UFC President Dana White announced co-main-event bouts for the next two upcoming pay-per-views as well as a deep UFC 290 card in July during International Fight Week. However, the rest of the summer is still in question. Fans are curious about when UFC champions Jamahal Hill and Zhang Weili will defend their titles next. It is expected that Hill and Zhang will fight in the next four to five months. Hill has been willing to book a fight for months, but the UFC is waiting on the return of former light heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka, who suffered a shoulder injury late in 2022. Sources say the UFC wants Hill vs. Procházka as the next 205-pound title fight. Hill is hoping for August, but nothing is set yet.
There has been discussion online about UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya or former middleweight champ Alex Pereira challenging Hill for the belt. Hill would be more than happy to take on that challenge if it’s presented. As for Zhang, she hasn’t fought since reclaiming the UFC women’s strawweight title from Carla Esparza in November at UFC 281 in New York. Amanda Lemos seems like the only contender who makes sense right now.
UFC 300 and the Heavyweight Division
The UFC plans to have a second pay-per-view show in July, another in August, and likely one in early September. The date for UFC 300 is not yet set, and it looks like it might fall in April 2024. The UFC is not going to alter a successful pay-per-view calendar to shoehorn UFC 300 into July’s annual International Fight Week. International Fight Week is already a successful event, and UFC 300 will be the same way.
The UFC’s heavyweight division has gone through far worse eras than the present. Heavyweight has never been the strongest division in MMA. The UFC’s heavyweight division is the best it has been in some time. Francis Ngannou is a massive loss at the top, but the rise of Sergei Pavlovich, Tom Aspinall, and Ciryl Gane in Europe is a positive sign. Jailton Almeida of Brazil is also dangerous and seems like he’s going to come on, too. Add that group of guys in with champion Jon Jones, Tai Tuivasa, Alexander Volkov, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and it’s hardly a lost division.
Khamzat Chimaev is expected to fight in October in Abu Dhabi in a middleweight fight. If Adesanya fights before then and if Chimaev wins – potentially in a fight against Paulo Costa – he’ll be queued up for the next 185-pound title shot. Former champion Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis will meet at UFC 290 in July, and the winner of that bout could also become the No. 1 contender.
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