Featherweight prospects will collide at Madison Square Garden.
UFC officials today confirmed a report from The Canadian Press that Dana White’s Contender Series alum Julio Arce (16-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will face Canada’s Hakeem Dawodu (10-1-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 244, which takes place Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden.
The night’s full bout order has yet to be revealed, but the main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Arce was in action most recently in May, picking up a knockout victory over Julian Erosa. That win saw Arce rebound from a disappointing split-decision loss to Sheymon Moraes this past November. Prior to the setback, Arce had owned a seven-fight winning streak, a run that included UFC wins over Daniel Teymur and Dan Ige, as well as a Dana White’s Contender Series victory over Peter Petties. That victory didn’t get Arce directly into the UFC, though he joined the promotion shortly after.
Meanwhile, Dawodu suffered a frustrating 39-second loss to Danny Henry in his UFC debut but has since bounced back with consecutive wins over Austin Arnett, Kyle Bochniak and Yoshinori Horie, that last of which earned him a “Performance of the Night” award at July’s UFC 240 event.
With the addition to the card, UFC 244 now includes:
- Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz
- Blagoy Ivanov vs. Derrick Lewis
- Corey Anderson vs. Johnny Walker
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jennifer Maia
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till
- Vicente Luque vs. Stephen Thompson
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Lyman Good vs. Chance Rencountre
- Julio Arce vs. Hakeem Dawodu
