Middleweight finishers Ikram Alicekarov and Bruno Ferreira have agreed to meet in the Octagon at UFC 318, the upcoming pay-per-view show scheduled for July 19th in New Orleans.
Several people with knowledge about bookings confirmed the news about MMA fight following a report from Laerte Viana.
Aliskerov (16-2) did a short job for Andremniz with the recent Octagon’s appearance in April, stopping the jiu-jitsu ace with a left hook in the left seconds in the opening round.
The Russian talent has stepped away from the first setback of his UFC career at the hands of former middleweight champion Robert Whitaker, and now holds a 3-1 UFC record where all wins come with a knockout in the first round.
Ferreira (13-2) has a 100% finishing rate in the sport, including four UFC wins. “The Hulk” created his name by dismantling Gregory Rodriguez in the first round of 2023, stopping Phil Haws and Dustin Stolzfuss in the final seconds of the opening round. The 32-year-old Brazilian recently recovered from an attack on Absmagomedov from a 2024 submission loss in his second round armbar victory against Amenpetrosian in March.
UFC 318 will be held at the Smoothie King Center, featuring Louisiana’s own Dustin Poirier retirement match in the main event, along with Max Holloway in the “BMF” title.
Damon Martin contributed to this report.