UFC Vegas 84 start time, full fight card details | Ankalaev vs. Walker 2

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to action after a brief hiatus to stage its first event of 2024 this Saturday night (Jan. 13) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the event is a light heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. Meanwhile, a lightweight fight between Gabriel Benitez and Jim Miller will co-headline the event.

What’s Hot:

Magomed Ankalaev will attempt to get back into the win column for the first time in a long time against Walker. His last win came against Anthony Smith at UFC 277 in mid-2022 (see it again here), and his following two fights resulted in a split draw against Jan Blachowicz, as well as a No Contest (NC) against Walker, which brings us to present day. Ankalaev has the chance to get back to another shot at the title after his first shot against Blachowicz proved to be disastrous.

As for Walker, prior to his first contest against Ankalaev ended rather quickly due to an illegal knee, he was on a three-fight win streak. A title shot likely isn’t in the card for the winner right away, but a win is still needed so he can stay in the mix. Walker has already stated he wants to move to Heavyweight, but he still has some business to settle at 205 pounds. Walker has always had a tendency to get a bit overzealous, which is something he cant afford to do against someone like Ankalaev, who is all about the fundamentals and hits like a truck. Unless we have a bad case of deja vu, this fight should deliver.

What’s Not:

This fight card suffered a total of three fight changes and three cancellations, so we can’t really be too upset that the first MMA fight card of the year isn’t the most stacked. But there are still several intriguing matchups that should make for an interesting night of fights.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

A fight between Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson was scrapped for no defined reasons. Mathew Semeslberger agreed to step in and face off against Preston Parsons after Bassil Hafez was removed from the event. Denys Bondar stumbled upon visa issues which prevented him from getting to Las Vegas for his fight against Felipe Brunes. As a result, the promotion enlisted Joshua Van to take the fight on short notice. And finally, Manel Kape missed weight, yet again, for his flyweight fight against Matheus Nicolau. As a result, the promotion opted to cancel the fight altogether.

Injuries:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Yana Santos was set to face Norma Dumont before Santos was removed from the fight due to a broken nose. As a result, Dumont was removed from the event altogether since the promotion didn’t find a suitable opponent in time.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 84 On ESPN+

TOP-RANKED LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT REMATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kicks off its 2024 mixed martial arts (MMA) campaign on Sat., Jan. 20, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada, with No. 3-ranked Light Heavyweight contender, Magomed Ankalaev, running it back against No. 7-seeded Johnny Walker after their initial wild encounter went up in smoke. In UFC Vegas 84’s co-main event, Lightweight legend, Jim Miller, locks horns with upstart knockout artist, Gabriel Benitez, in an intriguing 155-pound showdown.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

New Blood:

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27 year-old featherweight Jean Silva will bring his eight-fight win streak with him to the Octagon when he makes his debut opposite Westin Wilson. During his hot streak, Silva has finished seven different opponents, all of them in the very first round. As for Wilson, he is coming off a loss to Joanderson Brito, snapping his three-fight win streak.

After turning pro in 2020, Tom Nolan won his first six fights to earn a spot in the UFC roster, punching his ticket thanks to a knockout win over Bogdan Grad in the very first round on the Contender Series. He will battle Nikolas Motta, who is just 1-2-1 under the UFC banner. Felipe Bunes hasn’t exactly been lighting it up over the last few years, amassing just a 3-4 record since 2019. Nevertheless, he got the opportunity last-minute to face Joshua Van, who is on a seven-fight win streak, which includes winning his first two fights inside the Octagon.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

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Farid Basharat is a perfect 11-0 including two wins under the UFC banner. He is a jiu-jitsu specialist with six submissions wins to his credit. His opponent, Taylor Lapilus, is also on a hot streak having won six in a row, including making a successful UFC debut by defeating Caolán Loughran in Sept. 2023.

In the bantamweight division, Marcus McGhee will take on Gaston Bolanos. The former Bellator MMA veteran has won two straight, including an impressive UFC debut victory over Aaron Phillips.

In a welterweight showdown, Mathew Semelsberger will attempt to get back in the win column after losing two in a row. Since he did UFC a solid by taking the fight on short notice. he won’t get cut should he come up short against Preston Parsons, who is also coming off a loss to Trevin Giles.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

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Phil Hawes has lost two straight and three of four overall, so going into his fight against Bruno Ferreira, he will have a tad bit more pressure on his shoulders to pick up a win. Should he lose his third in a row, he could be on the chopping block. As for Ferreira, he suffered the first loss of his career after winning 10 straight fights after he was knocked out by Nursulton Ruziboev in the very first round.

Interest Level 5/10

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UFC’s iron man, Jim Miller, has actually be on a nice roll as of late, winning four of his last five fights. He will look to keep his hot streak going when he takes on Gabriel Benitez, who recently got back to his winning ways after losing two straight. With a win, Miller hopes to secure a spot at UFC 300 after previously competing at UFC 100 and UFC 200.

Ricky Simon was on a hot streak before running into Song Yadong in April 2023. He previously had won five in a row and will now attempt to get back to his winning ways when he battles Mario Bautista, who has won five in a row. Again, this is one of those matchmaking moves that has me puzzled. Bautitsta is on a hot streak while Simon is coming of a loss, so these bookings I never understand.

Andrei Arlovski is still trucking along and will take place in fight No. 41 inside the Octagon when he takes on Waldo Cortes-Acosta. But “The Pitbull” has seen better days because he has lost two in a row and a third straight defeat could very put his UFC career in question.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 84 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 84 Main Event On ESPN+:

205 lbs.: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker

UFC Vegas 84 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

125 lbs.: Matheus Nicolau vs. Manel Kape – CANCELED (details here)
155 lbs.: Gabriel Benitez vs. Jim Miller
135 lbs.: Ricky Simon vs. Mario Bautista
185 lbs.: Phil Hawes vs. Brunno Ferreira
265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta

UFC Vegas 84 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Marcus McGhee vs. Gaston Bolanos
170 lbs.: Preston Parsons vs. Matthew Semelsberger (not Bassil Hafez)
135 lbs.: Farid Basharat vs. Taylor Lapilus
145 lbs.: Westin Wilson vs. Jean Silva (not Gabriel Santos)
155 lbs.: Tom Nolan vs. Nikolas Motta
125 lbs.: Felipe Bunes vs. Joshua Van (not Denys Bondar)
135 lbs.: Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson — CANCELED (details here)
145 lbs.: Norma Dumont vs. Yana Santos — CANCELED (details here)

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 84 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 84 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” fight card and ESPN+ line up click here.