Nine bouts have been confirmed for the UFC Fight Night card on October 12 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas aka UFC Vegas 98. The main event is a flyweight bout between former title challenger Brandon Royval and No. 5-ranked contender Tatsuro Taira.
Top ranked Brandon Royval (16-7) makes his second Octagon appearance for the year and targets his second straight victory. The 32-year-old Denver, Colorado native defeated old rival Brandon Moreno by split decision in February.
Tatsuro Taira (16-0) also fights for the second time in 2024 and looks to remain undefeated. The 24-year-old Japanese contender took the victory against Alex Perez via second-round TKO due to injury in June.
The co-main event is a lightweight bout between Grant Dawson and Rafa Garcia. Dawson (21-2-1) of Cambria, Wisconsin is coming off the win by unanimous decision against Joe Solecki in June. Garcia (15-3) of Brawley, California defeated Clay Guida by unanimous decision in April 2023 and secured his second win in a row.
Also confirmed for UFC Vegas 98 fight card, a middleweight bout between Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) of Ghana and Pittsburgh’s Josh Fremd (11-6). Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Clayton Carptener (7-0) of Phoenix, AZ takes on Brazilian flyweight Lucas Rocha (17-1).
Spanish-born heavyweight Chris Barnett (23-8) goes up against another Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Waldo Cortes Acosta (12-1) of the Dominican Republic. Polyana Viana (13-7) of Brazil and Dana White’s Contender Series signee Cory McKenna (8-3) of Wales clash at women’s strawweight.
Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner CJ Vergara (12-5-1) of Laredo, Texas squares off against Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov (17-2) at flyweight. Themba Gorimbo (13-4) of South Africa and Niko Price (16-7, 2 NC) of Cape Coral, Florida battle it out at welterweight. In another contest at welterweight, DWCS alumni Chidi Njokuani (23-10, 1NC) of Dallas, Texas meets Jared Gooden (23-9) of Birmingham, Alabama.
The reported rescheduled middleweight matchup between Korea’s Jun Yong Park (17-6) and Brad Tavares (20-9) of Hawaii is yet to be confirmed.
The current UFC Vegas 98 lineup looks as the following:
- Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha
- Chris Barnett vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Polyana Viana vs. Cory McKenna
- CJ Vergara vs. Ramazonbek Temirov
- Niko Price vs. Themba Gorimbo
- Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden