A light heavyweight title fight and an interim bantamweight title bout headline from Abu Dhabi
The latest numbered UFC event is fast approaching. UFC 267 is set to hit Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Oct. 30 with a pair of title fights atop the marquee. The light heavyweight title will be on the line when champion Jan Blachowicz looks to defend against veteran and long-time title hopeful Glover Teixeira. The interim bantamweight title is on the line in the co-main event when former champ Petr Yan takes on Cory Sandhagen. Yan dropped the belt to Aljamain Sterling with a blatant foul that led to a DQ earlier this year and Sterling was deemed medically unfit to compete on this card after undergoing neck surgery.
At 41 years old and more than seven years removed from his previous shot at UFC gold, Teixeira is an unlikely title challenger. Still, a five-fight winning streak that includes two wins over former title challengers has made him as strong a contender at 205 pounds as is available in the division's post-Jon Jones era.
Blachowicz has proven himself a legitimate champion, first winning the vacant title against Dominick Reyes and then defending the title against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. In both of those title fights, Blachowicz entered the Octagon as the underdog. That will not be the case against Teixeira.
Plus, this card also marks the return of two fo the promotion's rising stars. Khamzat Chimaev burst on the scene in 2020 with absolute destruction. He dominated John Phillips in his promotional debut before making the walk again 10 days later with a first-round TKO of Rhys McKee. He then went viral with a one-punch knockout of Gerald Meerschaert that ended the fight in just 17 seconds. But Chimaev then contracted COVID-19 and a long road to recovery kept him out of action for over a year. Now, he returns against a tough opponent in Li Jingliang in the welterweight division.
The action goes down on Oct. 30 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It is a rare UFC "numbered" event that will air as a non-pay-per-view event. Below is the most recent announced fight card with bout order still to be determined. Latest odds via Caesars Sportsbook.
UFC 267 fight card, odds
- Jan Blachowicz (c) -280 vs. Glover Teixeira +230, light heavyweight championship
- Petr Yan -240 vs. Cory Sandhagen +200, interim bantamweight championship
- Islam Makhachev -700 vs. Dan Hooker +500, lightweight
- Alexander Volkov -300 vs. Marcin Tybura +240, heavyweight
- Khamzat Chimaev -440 vs. Li Jingliang +340, welterweight
- Magomed Ankalaev -340 vs. Volkan Oezdemir +270, light heavyweight
- Amanda Ribas -155 vs. Virna Jandiroba +130, women's strawweight
- Zubaira Tukhugov -170 vs. Ricardo Ramos +145, featherweight
- Albert Duraev -310 vs. Roman Kopylov +250, middleweight
- Shamil Gamzatov -150 vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk +125, light heavyweight
- Lerone Murphy -330 vs. Makwan Amirkhani +260, featherweight
- Yaozong Hu vs. Andre Petroski, light heavyweight
- Damir Ismagulov -280 vs. Magomed Mustafaev +230, lightweight
- Tagir Ulanbekhov -360 vs. Allan Nascimento +280, flyweight
UFC 267 info
Date: Oct. 30
Location: Eithad Arena -- Abu Dhabi
Start time: 2 p.m. ET (Main card)
How to watch: ESPN+
UFC 267 countdown
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