A pair of welterweight strikers are headed to Denmark.
Siyar Bahadurzada (24-7-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will take on the “Austrian Wonderboy,” Ismail Naurdiev (18-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC), at UFC on ESPN+ 18. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the matchup after an initial report from Igor Lazorin.
UFC on ESPN+ 18 takes place Sept. 28 at Royal Arena in Copenhagen. The event streams on ESPN+.
Bahadurzada saw his three-fight winning streak snapped when he dropped a unanimous decision to Curtis Millender at UFC 232. He was slated to face Nordine Taleb at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in May, but was forced out due to injury. He will look to rebound when he takes on Austria’s Naurdiev.
After a successful upset victory over Michel Prazeres in his UFC debut, Naurdiev (18-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Chance Rencountre at UFC 239, which halted his momentum. He draws a tough test in the gritty Bahadurzada in what is expected to be a standup fight.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 18 lineup includes:
- Jack Hermansson vs. Jared Cannonier
- Thiago Alves vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Macy Chiasson vs. Lina Lansberg
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Khalil Rountree
- Alessio Di Chirico vs. Peter Sobotta
- Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Alen Amedovski vs. John Phillips
- Nicolas Dalby vs. Alex Oliveira
- Lando Vannata vs. Marc Diakiese
- Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Ismail Naurdiev
