Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Two perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight
contenders will lock horns in July. Middleweight Omari
Akhmedov (21-5-1) announced on Instagram that his
contract had been signed for his next bout. The Dagestan native,
per MMA
Fighting, will be taking on Brad
Tavares (18-6) at UFC 264.
The two will throw hands on July 10, and there is no official venue
or location in the books for this top-15 185-pound matchup.
Akhmedov rebounded from his first defeat since 2016, where he
dropped a decision to Chris
Weidman at UFC Fight Night 174 in August 2020, by tapping out
jiu-jitsu standout Tom Breese in
the second round. The stoppage win for “Wolverine” was his first
finish since 2015, and his first not by injury since 2013. Before
tapping Breese, Akhmedov reached the scorecards in each of his last
seven bouts, and had fought into Round 3 in all of his last nine
outings.
Tavares snapped a two-fight skid in January by taking a decision
over Antonio
Carlos Jr. Before the victory, the Hawaiian suffered defeats to
current champ Israel
Adesanya and then-undefeated Edmen
Shahbazyan. A member of the UFC roster since 2010, Tavares has
quietly placed himself among the middleweight elite by notching 13
wins inside the division. Following his victory over Carlos Jr.,
the only two 185-pounders with more UFC triumphs were Anderson
Silva (14) and Michael
Bisping (16) – both champions.
The UFC pay-per-view event titled UFC 264 will go down on July 10,
at a currently undisclosed location. Although there is no headliner
currently on deck, the promotion is targeting a lightweight trilogy
match between Dustin
Poirier and Conor
McGregor for the card. Additional bouts scheduled on the event
include a significant featherweight matchup between Ryan Hall and
Ilia
Topuria, while two former flyweight title challengers face off
when Jennifer
Maia fights Jessica
Eye.
