Counter Programming? UFC Drops Mega Main Event Announcements

Today is anything but a slow news day.

Earlier this evening, UFC President Dana White announced a trio of massive main event fights, fleshing out the remaining “Fight Night” events in August and September. In order, White announced Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov for August 5 in Nashville, Tennessee, Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung on August 26 in Singapore, and Ciryl Gane vs. Serghei Spivac on September 2 in Paris, France.

Sandhagen rides a two-fight win streak into his latest main event slot, having dominated Marlon Vera and sliced up Song Yadong to rebound from his title fight loss to Petr Yan. The top-ranked Bantamweight contender will serve as a significant step up for Umar Nurmagomedov, the undefeated (16-0) Russian that none of the other established Bantamweights seem eager to face.

Holloway vs. Jung is a major match up of fan favorite Featherweights. Holloway recently turned away top prospect Arnold Allen, proving that he’s still one of the best alive despite a trio of losses to Alexander Volkanovski. Jung, meanwhile, was brutalized by “The Great” in his last appearance, and “The Korean Zombie” is expected to retire after this fight.

Lastly, Gane will have a chance to demonstrate his improved takedown defense and grappling … or not. The Heavyweight kickboxer was steamrolled by Jon Jones in his last appearance, whereas Spivac rides a strong three-fight finishing streak into his second main event slot, having just dispatched Derrick Lewis with relative ease.

Prior to these fight announcements, massive news broke that Conor McGregor was once again facing rape allegations, accusations the Irish athlete has vehemently denied. Remember last month when Francis Ngannou announced a massive, ground-breaking deal with PFL, and UFC responded by dropping as many main events and fight bookings as the promotion could muster?

The timing sure feels a little similar.