UFC 295, set for the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York on the morning of Sunday 12 November 2023, will feature two title fights in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
Originally set to be headlined by Jon Jones making the first defence of his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic, this card was altered when the champion was forced to withdraw due to injury.
This has seen the former co-main event, a fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight belt, promoted to top billing, while the new co-main event will be a battle for the interim heavyweight title between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall.
Jamahal Hill, the most recent light heavyweight champion, vacated his title after rupturing his Achilles tendon, which is expected to keep him out of action until some time in 2024.
Prochazka (29-3-1) himself vacated the light heavyweight title after injury and will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since the submission win over Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 in June 2022 which first brought him the belt.
Pereira (8-2), the former UFC middleweight champion, made a successful move up to the light heavyweight division in July of this year when he defeated the highly-regarded former champion Jan Blachowicz via split decision.
“Okay, so it’s going to be a fight, a real spectacle, because it’s different styles. But it’s a style everyone loves, and I’m super stoked to have booked this fight. I’m sure it’s going to be a blast. I don’t think anyone will regret watching this fight,” said Pereira.
The clash between Pavlovich (18-1) and Aspinall (13-3) pits together two of the heavyweight division’s most exciting rising stars. The former has racked up six straight wins (all first-round stoppages for KO or TKO), claiming impressive scalps such as Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa and Curtis Blaydes in the process, while the latter is fresh from a first-round destruction of Marcin Tybura in July which marked his spectacular return from a career-threatening knee injury suffered in mid-2022.
“I'm fighting the most dangerous guy in the UFC on two weeks’ notice, but I'm willing to put it all on the line. This is my absolute dream and I'm f***** doing a Bisping,” said Aspinall, in reference to fellow Englishman Michael Bisping’s winning the middleweight title in 2016 when he took on Luke Rockhold on 17 days’ notice.
The rest of the fight card features matches such as Mackenzie Dern v Jessica Andrade in the women’s strawweight division; a lightweight battle between Matt Frevola and Benoit Saint-Denis; and Diego Lopes v Pat Sabatini in the featherweight category.
UFC 295 – Fight card
- Main event: Light heavyweight championship: Jiri Prochazka v Alex Pereira
- Co-main event: Interim heavyweight championship: Sergei Pavlovich v Tom Aspinall
- Featherweight: Diego Lopes v Pat Sabatini
- Women’s strawweight: Mackenzie Dern v Jessica Andrade
- Lightweight: Matt Frevola v Benoit Saint-Denis
- Flyweight: Matt Schnell v Steve Erceg
- Women’s strawweight: Tabatha Ricci v Loopy Godinez
- Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov v Viacheslav Borschev
- Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki v Nurullo Aliev
- Featherweight: Dennis Buzukja v Jamall Emmers
- Lightweight: Jared Gordon v Mark Madsen
- Bantamweight: John Castadena v Kang Kyung-ho
- Flyweight: Joshua Van v Kevin Borjas