Nine fights have been confirmed for UFC Fight Night on October 12 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, also known as UFC Vegas 98. The main event is a flyweight bout between former title challenger Brandon Royval and No. 5 seed Tatsuro Taira.
Top-seeded Brandon Royval (16-7) is making his second Octagon appearance this year, seeking his second straight win. The 32-year-old Denver, Colorado native defeated old rival Brandon Moreno by split decision in February.
Tatsuro Taira (16-0) is also fighting for the second time in 2024 and appears to remain undefeated. The 24-year-old Japanese challenger claimed the win over Alex Perez by TKO in the second round after being injured 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 a unanimous decision win over Joe Solecki in June. Garcia (15-3), of Brawley, California, defeated Clay Guida by unanimous decision in April 2023 for his second consecutive victory.
Also confirmed for the UFC Vegas 98 fight card: a middleweight bout between Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-6) of Ghana and Josh Fremd (11-6) of Pittsburgh. Clayton Carptener (7-0) of Phoenix, Arizona, a former participant in Dana White’s Contender Series, will face Brazilian flyweight Lucas Rocha (17-1).
Spanish-born heavyweight Chris Barnett (23-8) will face another Dana White’s Contender Series competitor, Waldo Cortes Acosta (12-1) of the Dominican Republic. Polyana Viana (13-7) of Brazil and fellow Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Cory McKenna (8-3) of Wales will face off in the women’s strawweight division.
Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner CJ Vergara (12-5-1) of Laredo, Texas, will face Ramazan Temirov (17-2) of Uzbekistan in a flyweight bout. Themba Gorimbo (13-4) of South Africa and Niko Price (16-7, 2 NC) of Cape Coral, Florida will battle it out in a welterweight bout. In another welterweight bout, DWCS alumnus Chidi Njokuani (23-10, 1NC) of Dallas, Texas will face Jared Gooden (23-9) of Birmingham, Alabama.
The allegedly postponed middleweight fight between Korean Jun Yong Park (17-6) and Brad Tavares (20-9) from Hawaii has yet to be confirmed.
The current lineup for UFC Vegas 98 looks as follows:
- 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
