TOP MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTENDERS
(#4) DARREN TILL AND (#5) MARVIN VETTORI
HEADLINE UFC® EVENT ON ABC AND ESPN+
FEATURED BOUTS:
(#10) SODIQ YUSUFF vs. (#11) ARNOLD ALLEN
(#5) NINA ANSAROFF vs. (#11) MACKENZIE DERN
Las Vegas – UFC® will return to ABC with a thrilling middleweight contenders’ bout that will see No. 4 ranked Darren Till take on No. 5 Marvin Vettori. Streaking featherweight contenders collide in the co-main event, as No. 10 ranked contender Sodiq Yusuff meets No. 11 Arnold Allen. Also, No. 5 ranked UFC strawweight contender Nina Ansaroff collides with No. 11 Mackenzie Dern.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: TILL vs. VETTORI will take place Saturday, April 10. The main card will be simulcast live on ABC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (English and Spanish) at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT. The prelims will kick off on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and simulcast on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
The eventfollows on the heels of the UFC’s highly successful inaugural event on ABC, which saw Max Holloway defeat Calvin Kattar in a Fight of the Year candidate in January. The ABC broadcast of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: HOLLOWAY vs. KATTAR averaged 1.22 million viewers and was UFC’s biggest TV audience in almost a year. It was the first-ever live MMA event on ABC, which had last aired a combat sports card with a boxing event in 2000.
Former welterweight title challenger Till (18-3-1, fighting out of Liverpool, England) immediately made waves in the UFC’s stacked middleweight division by earning an impressive victory over Kelvin Gastelum in 2019. Throughout his UFC run, he has also delivered memorable wins against former UFC title challengers Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone. Till now has his sights set on stopping the momentum of Vettori to defend his spot in the middleweight top five.
Vettori (16-4-1, fighting out of Mezzocorona, Italy) staked his claim as a legitimate title threat by winning an entertaining decision over Jack Hermansson in his first UFC main event. The talented grappler and striker has also secured thrilling victories against Karl Roberson, Andrew Sanchez and Cezar Ferreira. Vettori now aims to pick up his fifth consecutive win in emphatic fashion to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder.
Yusuff (11-1, fighting out of Bladensburg, Md. by way of Lagos, Nigeria) returns to the Octagon for the first time since earning an exciting victory over Andre Fili in January 2020. Currently riding a six-fight win streak, he has also netted impressive wins against Gabriel Benitez, Sheymon Moraes and Mike Davis. Yusuff now looks to continue his unbeaten run and stake his claim as a future title challenger by becoming the first fighter to finish Allen.
Allen (16-1, fighting out of Trimley St. Martin, Suffolk, England) also makes his first UFC appearance since January 2020, when he secured an entertaining win over fan favourite Nik Lentz. Victorious in nine consecutive outings, Allen also owns wins against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, Mads Burnell and Makwan Amirkhani. Allen now hopes to push his win streak to double digits by becoming the first fighter to take out Yusuff in the UFC.
Ansaroff (10-6, fighting out of Weston, Fla.) returns to action for the first time since June 2019, ready to remind the world that she is among the top athletes in the strawweight division. Having won four of her last five bouts, she has netted exciting victories against former title challenger Claudia Gadelha, Angela Hill and Randa Markos. Ansaroff is now gunning to take advantage of her first UFC co-main event by becoming the first fighter to finish Dern.
Decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Dern (10-1, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif.) aims to push her win streak to four consecutive bouts with another stellar submission win. A two-time gold medal winner at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, she holds submission wins in MMA over Randa Markos, Hannah Cifers and Amanda Cooper. Dern is now poised to earn the biggest win of her career to crack the strawweight top five.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- Dana White’s Contender Series signees battle when Kyle Daukaus (10-1, fighting out of Philadelphia, Penn.) faces undefeated Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-0, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia)
- Sam Alvey (33-15-1 1NC, fighting out of Temecula, Calif.) returns to middleweight against Julian Marquez (8-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.)
- Canadian veteran John Makdessi (17-7, fighting out of Montreal, Canada) makes his 18th UFC appearance against Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner Ignacio Bahamondes (11-3, fighting out of Chicago, Ill. by way of Santiago, Chile) in a lightweight bout
- Mike Perry (14-7, fighting out of Orlando, Fla.) hopes to secure a vintage KO when he takes on Daniel Rodriguez (13-2, fighting out of Alhambra, Calif.) at welterweight
- Dana White’s Contender Series contract earner Luis Saldana (14-6, fighting out of Scottsdale Ariz.) debuts against Jordan Griffin (18-8, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) in a featherweight bout
- Undefeated women’s bantamweight Bea Malecki (4-0, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) returns against Norma Dumont (5-1, fighting out of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil)
- Yorgan De Castro (6-2, Fall River, Mass.) squares off with Jarjis Danho (6-1-1 1NC, fighting out of Nuremberg, Germany) in a battle of heavyweight finishers
- Hunter Azure (9-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) locks horns with undefeated Jack Shore (13-0, Abertillery, Wales) in an intriguing clash of bantamweight prospects
- Da-un Jung (13-2-1, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) looks to extend his unbeaten run to 14 bouts when he faces Shamil Gamzatov (14-0, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) at light heavyweight
- Scott Holtzman (14-4, fighting out of Knoxville, Tenn.) hopes to return to his winning ways when he squares off with Mateusz Gamrot (17-1 1NC, fighting out of Poznan, Poland) in a lightweight bout
- Dana White’s Contender Series middleweight signee Impa Kasanganay (8-1, fighting out of Gastonia, N.C.) looks for a show-stealing performance against Sasha Palatnikov (6-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Hong Kong)
- Lightweight legend Jim Miller (32-15 1NC, fighting out of Sparta, N.J.) makes his record-setting 37th UFC appearance against Joe Solecki (10-2, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
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About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 142 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 territories. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, along with strategic investors Silver Lake Partners and KKR. UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 12.5 million subscribers.
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features nine U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
